Canelo Alvarez is preparing for his return to the ring but he has already dismissed ever taking on one rival in particular.
Canelo hasn’t fought since losing his undisputed super-middleweight crown to Terence Crawford at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas last September.
Crawford subsequently retired, resulting in those belts becoming fragmented, and Canelo will now seek to regain one of them when he challenges Christian Mbilli for the WBC super-middleweight title in Riyadh in October.
While his attention is fully on that bout for now, another major clash that is often touted is a battle against three-weight world champion David Benavidez, who currently holds the WBC light heavyweight title, along with the WBA and WBO cruiserweight belts.
Canelo has revealed that he has no interest in that bout though, telling Inside The Ring that Benavidez is simply seeking a pay day, and that the current difference in weight makes it ‘impossible.’
“Every fight he is calling me out, always looking for the payday. There is a reason they are always calling me out.
“When we were both at 168, I fought every champion in the division. I said to myself why did he never fight those champions? Then if he was a champion at that point I would fight him because my goal was being undisputed, right now it is impossible.
“He can fight with heavyweights. I understand why he’s calling me out or they’re calling me out, it’s fine.”
Benavidez extended his unbeaten record to 32-0 when he stopped Gilberto Ramirez in May, and with a fight against Canelo ruled out, he instead looks likely to take on WBC cruiserweight champion Noel Mikaelian next, in a bid to become a three-belt unified champion.
