WBC Prez Blames David Benavidez for Canelo Alvarez Fight Collapse

Boxing and politics may seem worlds apart, but the sport often mirrors the intrigue and power plays of ‘House of Cards.’ Few situations capture that better than the standoff between Canelo Alvarez and David Benavidez. In case you missed it, ‘The Monster’ had held the interim super middleweight title since 2022, yet never received his shot at the full champion—the Mexican superstar himself. In early 2024, conversation picked up speed. 

However, Canelo made an impossible demand to make the fight, which doomed it. “When a promoter comes and says, ‘I offer you $150 million’, I’ll fight [him] tomorrow,” Canelo said. Initially, Benavidez was adamant, suggesting the money could be arranged, but he was forced to move on to the light heavyweight division, looking for better opportunities. He lost the interim title as well. And now, the WBC president is blaming Benavidez for the fight’s collapse. 

David Benavidez is the core of the problem

“In Canelo’s case, there’s some misinformation regarding Benavidez,” Mauricio Sulaimán said during a conversation with Mexican boxing legend Juan Manuel Márquez and analyst Jalim Sadat on ProBox TV. “Benavidez was an official challenger when he won a fight, and then it took a year for it to happen. It was clear when the period began for the fight to be ordered. Benavidez decided to move up a division. He decided because he’s been giving him the cold shoulder for years.”

It’s worth noting that in September 2023, Sulaimán himself announced that Benavidez was the “mandatory contender for the WBC. Benavidez’s term for the mandatory status is in March 2024.” Yet by November 2023, Canelo had still not accepted the fight. Even by March 2024, nothing had materialized, and three months later, Benavidez moved up in weight to face Oleksandr Gvozdyk in the light heavyweight division. Still, Sulaimán’s attempt to pin the blame on David Benavidez triggered a fiery response from Sadat.

“Mauricio, [he] decided, because he’s tired of begging him. You have to beg St. Canelo Alvarez as if he were the god of boxing,” Sadat said. “He decides who to fight. He decides because he passes the organizations off like deodorant… If you don’t kiss his shoes, you don’t get in his shows. That can’t happen with a boxer who is also a promoter.” The back-and-forth quickly escalated as both men traded shots, though Sulaimán doubled down, continuing to defend Canelo Alvarez while criticizing Benavidez.

“I’m telling you that when the deadline was to order the fight, Benavidez moved up a division,” he added during the interview, urging Sadat to call Benavidez and confirm it. But Sadat refused to back down, firing back, “He’s going to tell you that he’s looking and that he had to get out of the division because Canelo backed out and was giving him half-hearted treatment and asked for a lot of money, crazy money to turn him around. And he goes with smaller fighters like Crawford.”

Now, Canelo is set to defend his titles against Terence Crawford – who moved up two weight classes – in Las Vegas on September 13. Regardless, the heated exchange between Sulaimán and Sadat ultimately prompted Juan Manuel Márquez to step in and share his own perspective on the Canelo-WBC controversy.

Márquez rips into Mauricio Sulaimán and Canelo Alvarez

The Mexican boxing legend backed Sadat, further criticizing the WBC President for giving Canelo Alvarez full rein to do whatever he wants. “Canelo has received special treatment from you, a treatment in which practically he does what he wants,” Marquez said. He pointed out that ‘Cinnamon’ fights those he wants, and ignores those who don’t suit his liking. 

“He sees if he wants to fight or not, he sees if he says no or wants to face another rival. Now it suits me to face this rival. And I think that in that sense, the organization has to enforce its rules because the rules are enforced for certain fighters and not for others,” Marquez claimed. Despite this, Sulaimán claimed Marquez was biased towards Sadat.

That being said, it appears Mauricio Sulaimán is shifting the blame to David Benavidez entirely, even though ‘The Monster’ has been advocating for the fight for some time now. What do you make of all this?