One of boxing’s biggest ‘what ifs’ looks destined to stay that way. After years of being sidelined by Canelo Alvarez, David Benavidez was essentially pushed to move up to light heavyweight. There, he racked up impressive wins over Oleksandr Gvozdyk and David Morrell. Most recently, ‘The Mexican Monster’ faced Anthony Yarde—the same Yarde who pushed Artur Beterbiev to the brink in 2023 before falling short.

But unlike Beterbiev, Benavidez dominated from start to finish, stopping Yarde with a seventh-round TKO. The win fueled talk of a potential showdown with Beterbiev or even an undisputed clash with Dmitry Bivol. Instead, Benavidez shocked fans by announcing a move to cruiserweight to face Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramírez on May 6. Still, the past continues to loom large. Jose Benavidez Sr. has once again ripped into Canelo Alvarez, accusing him of ducking his son.

What was ‘Cinnamon’ thinking during David Benavidez vs. Anthony Yarde?

During an interview with Fight Hub TV following David Benavidez’s latest performance, the reporter asked Jose Benavidez Sr. what Canelo Alvarez might have been thinking while watching the fight. “I think what Canelo was thinking when he saw the fight, he started seeing David getting better and better,” Benavidez Sr. said. He even suggested that Canelo went into hiding after witnessing his son dominate Anthony Yarde.

“Maybe he went and hid behind his closet or something, you know, to be honest with you. And he was just like terrified, you know, because the person that Canelo does not want to face is David Benavidez, ‘The Mexican Monster,’” he added. According to Benavidez Sr., his son will remain a permanent blemish on Canelo’s legacy as the opponent he allegedly avoided at all costs because of his fear of losing.

“So I think that will be his shadow for the rest of his life because everybody knows, you know, that’s the fighter that he needed to face, and he didn’t want to face,” he said during the interview. It’s worth noting that earlier this year, Canelo had demanded $200 million to make the Benavidez fight happen. Despite David Benavidez initially claiming that the money could be arranged, the bout never materialized.

Since then, Canelo has fought Terence Crawford, losing a unanimous decision in a largely one-sided fight in September. The Mexican superstar still has two fights remaining in his deal with His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, and recent reports indicate he is eyeing a rematch with Crawford. With Canelo repeatedly stating he plans to retire at 37, the window to make the long-anticipated Benavidez fight is rapidly closing.

The comments from Jose Benavidez Sr. were cutting to say the least, but there appears to be even more bad news for Canelo Alvarez. 

Canelo Alvarez booted from pound-for-pound rankings

Canelo Alvarez has officially been removed from The Ring’s pound-for-pound rankings, ending one of the longest active runs in modern boxing. The Mexican superstar first entered the P4P top 10 back in 2013 after defeating Austin Trout and remained a fixture for more than a decade. That is aside from a brief six-month absence in 2018 following his Clenbuterol suspension, which the Nevada Commission accepted as a case of contaminated meat.

But after a big weekend in Saudi Arabia, The Ring’s panel made major adjustments, with Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez surging to No. 4, Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev shifting down, and Devin Haney entering the list at No. 10. With those moves, Canelo was pushed out entirely. His exit signals the end of an era that saw him rise to No. 1 after knocking out Sergey Kovalev in 2019 and hold his place among the sport’s elite for nearly 12 years.

Having said that, it appears Canelo Alvarez’s final years in boxing will see his downfall from one of the elites to a boxer who avoided tough fights and was removed from the pound-for-pound list. What do you think of all this?