“The way he talk, he thinks he’s a Superman…He’s accomplished nothing.” In just one line, Canelo Alvarez summed up what he thought about David Benavidez. It should not come as a surprise, considering that is the stance that the undisputed super middleweight champion has held for years when it comes to fighting Benavidez. At first, he openly blasted the 28-year-old for a lack of any considerable achievements in the sport and then demanded a staggering purse of $200 million for the fight when Benavidez achieved the status of being the WBC mandatory contender.

To the undisputed champion, David Benavidez, being the bigger fighter was an advantage that should’ve been compensated through a grand paycheck. Frustrated by the ludicrous demands and not wanting to wait around, the Phoenix native moved up to the light heavyweight division in June last year, defeating Oleksandr Gvozdyk to become the WBC interim light heavyweight champion. Now that he is the WBC light heavyweight champion, the gripe with Canelo Alvarez has still not ended. As the 34-year-old is moving toward his bout with  Terence Crawford on September 13, the Mexican Monster continues to believe that he still is Canelo’s biggest fight.

And that is exactly what he told hosts Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo during his recent appearance on the Pound 4 Pound podcast. “If Canelo fights me today, it’d probably be the biggest fight in his career…That’d be the biggest paycheck he makes in his career,” David Benavidez said. Taking direct shots at the undisputed super middleweight champion, Benavidez continued, “If I’m such a bad fighter that he could come beat me and I’m nothing, why wouldn’t you just come beat me? Shut me up. Get the respect from the people, and make a big f**king paycheck. What’s the problem?“

At this point, the Bandera Roja’s annoyance can be related to fanatics who wish to see the bout happen. But, even now, the ball remains in the Guadalajara native’s court. Because he gets to call the shots on who to fight after the Crawford fight is done with. Then, Usman jumped in to politely give Benavidez a reality check. “To him, you’re not the first guy I’m gonna look at the list and say, ‘yeah, give me that guy,’” he noted.

However, David Benavidez was sure that he was at least somewhere on the top of that list. “How long does the list have to go until you said, ‘I want a good fight for my people’?” he asked. To him, like most others in the community right now, Canelo Alvarez is fighting just for money. And Benavidez is one of those who has always been vocal about this. Then, suggesting a workaround to make the fight happen, Cejudo asked if fighting Dimitry Bivol, the current unified champion at light heavyweight, would be a way to entice Alvarez. But then again, even Bivol is occupied with the Artur Beterbiev trilogy.

“That was my play,” said Benavidez. “I’m tired of talking about Canelo. I don’t think he’s ever gonna give me an opportunity,” Benavidez added, pouring out his pent-up frustration. The hosts suggested that there is a lot of money if the Canelo-Benavidez clash ever happens, pointing to a $100 million or more purse. Yet, to the 28-year-old, it’s the fight that matters more. Now that the ones Benavidez wants to fight are preoccupied with their own opponents, what about his next fight?

After Canelo Alvarez snub, David Benavidez is targeting two fighters for future matchups

In the same podcast, Benavidez also didn’t hold back about the opponents he would be willing to face next. Dropping the names of Callum Smith and Anthony Yarde, Benavidez said that those are the two top fighters in his division who could possibly be his next opponents. He mentioned how Smith had fought Canelo, and the fight could happen in the U.S. That way, he could become the WBO interim champion in the division, a place that the 31-2 boxer currently holds.

Ultimately leading to the destination Benavidez wants for his career—becoming an undisputed light heavyweight champion. But what about moving down to super middleweight if an opportunity comes knocking? Even though he can, the WBC champ wouldn’t want to. Dieting is the hardest part, he admitted on the podcast. So, it is likely that posing a win over Mundo would make it easier to dominate where Benavidez is currently at.

And then, even if the top competition still avoids David Benavidez? He wouldn’t care. Because at the end of the day, he feels that he’s doing everything possible to put himself out there. He’s calling the elite fighters out for a matchup; he’s putting out strong performances in the ring. So, it doesn’t matter who is too busy not to fight him or keep ducking him, Benavidez is going to keep moving forward as planned, possibly with the Callum Smith fight shortly.

What are your thoughts on this? Is Canelo Alvarez ducking him? Or do you agree that David Benavidez still has a long way to build up his resume?