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David Benavidez is still hopeful that one day he will meet Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez inside the ring, even though the Mexican superstar lost all four of his super middleweight belts against Terence Crawford.
Speculation has linked the American-born but Mexican-born Benavidez to Canelo over the years, but no bout between the two has taken place.
Benavidez, undefeated in 30 fights, held the WBC super middleweight belt on two occasions, but had to vacate the title both times. He was forced to step down for the second time after failing to move up in weight for a 2020 contest with Romer Alexis Angulo, and although he continued to campaign at 168lbs for three more years, Benavidez moved up to light heavyweight when it became clear that despite his interim WBC belt, he would not fight Canelo.
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However, the current WBC 175lbs champion believes a fight with Canelo can always be made, as long as the Mexican is still active.
Benavidez told talkSPORT: “No, I haven’t given up all hope on that fight. I think as long as he doesn’t retire and he’s out of the sport of boxing, there’s always a chance that fight will be made.
“And for good reason because at the end of the day, what other fights are left for Canelo? And now it feels like the cards are in my hands, he doesn’t have a belt at 168 and I have a belt at 175 and I plan on getting all the belts at 175.”
Upgraded from interim WBC champion to full title holder earlier this year, Benavidez made the first defense of his belt against Brit Anthony Yarde live on DAZN PPV on Saturday, November 22.
Canelo previously fought at light heavyweight in 2019 and 2022, defeating Sergey Kovalev to take the WBO world championship, before losing to Dmitry Bivol three years later. Benavidez has his sights set on several fights, with Bivol as his target.
Bivol defeated Artur Beterbiev in February 2025, avenging his defeat in his first fight four months earlier. Both fighters promised to run it back to a trilogy bout with undisputed status, but Bivol’s injury has put those plans on hold. The WBC decided to strip Bivol of the WBC title, granting Benavidez full champion status in April.
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