Canelo Alvarez turned heel at the press conference for his clash with Jaime Munguia when addressing the situation with rival David Benavidez.
Irked when the subject came up, a shades-boasting Canelo was compared to WWE’s Razor Ramon as he entered ‘Bad Guy’ mode.
Asked about a five million dollar offer made to Benavidez through his father, Jose Sr., Canelo was perplexed by the notion of any monetary discussion.
Canelo talks Benavidez
“I don’t know where this came from,” Canelo told Fight Hub TV’s Marcos Villegas. “We never, never, never [offered five million dollars]. Not that I know, and I know everything.”
On whether he’ll ever fight the ‘Mexican Monster,’ the undisputed super middleweight champion revealed his stance. He stated it would take a mammoth check to seal any Benavidez deal.
“Who knows, but he brings nothing to the table for me. He brings twenty-five pounds more [in weight than me] on the night. That’s it. If some promoter, not him – because he has nothing to offer me anything. He’s got nothing to offer me money, you know. I’m the one. But if some promoter I work with comes to me and says, ‘I’ll offer you a hundred and fifty or two hundred million, I’d fight tomorrow. That’s the only reason I’ll fight with him.
👀“I don’t need to prove anything to ANYBODY!”-Canelo
What’s your take on Canelo’s comments?
🎥: https://t.co/HkA7E89hBe#boxing #canelomunguia pic.twitter.com/D7zXc6Ognb
— Fight Hub TV (@FightHubTV) March 20, 2024
“I don’t need to fight anybody, I don’t need to prove [anything] to anybody. I remember when this happened with Golovkin, and then [three fights] happened with him. So I don’t need to prove anything to anybody.”
Concluding on his May 4 all-Mexico battle in Las Vegas, Canelo stated: “You need to respect Munguia during this fight with Jaime Munguia because this fight is more important than other fights.”
Cinco de Mayo
Cinco de Mayo is expected to be a spectacular event that skeptics state would have been made better if it involved Benavidez. However, nothing can be taken away from Munguia, who has amassed a 43-0 record and stopped ex-Canelo opponent John Ryder in nine rounds last time out.
Whether a win for Canelo sets up the Benavidez fight for September remains to be seen. Boxing fans will hope so, but since when did that matter? Canelo is his own man and has been since toppling the boxing tree and earning the right to call himself the number one superstar in the sport.
Canelo will do what he wants for his own career. After victories over Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Erislandy Lara, Gennadiy Golovkin, Sergey Kovalev, Danny Jacobs, Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders, and Jermell Charlo, he has every right to do that.
Read all articles and learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor Phil Jay.
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