Canelo Alvarez has had his say on the latest callout from David Benavidez for a showdown between the pair.
Canelo and Benavidez have been linked to a fight with one another for a number of years, dating back to when the two men were both competing at super-middleweight.
While Canelo remains one of the key fighters at 168lbs, Benavidez has since moved up the divisions, first becoming WBC light heavyweight champion before claiming a win over Gilberto Ramirez earlier this month to earn the WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles.
Following that victory, Benavidez has been linked to fights against the likes of Dmitry Bivol and Jai Opetaia, but he again made it clear that he would offer Canelo a shot at his 175lb WBC belt.
Canelo has now responded, revealing in a media scrum with Boxing News that he isn’t surprised that Benavidez called him out again, but doubts whether ‘The Mexican Monster’ can even make the light heavyweight limit anymore after his move to cruiserweight.
“Every single boxer in any division is calling me out. It’s nothing new to me. He did good in the fight [against Ramirez]. I’m not surprised [he called me out], but I don’t think he can make 175 anymore. It’s not my problem.”
Canelo has competed at 175lbs on two previous occasions, but for now a move to light heavyweight seems unlikely, with his current focus on his world title opportunity against WBC super-middleweight champion Christian Mbilli in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on September 12.