Canelo Alvarez Maintains High Asking Price to Fight David Benavidez

If the boxing world is going to get a fight between Canelo Alvarez and David Benavidez, it’s going to come at a high price. Alvarez continues to reiterate that if such a fight were to occur, his asking price would be $200 million. There is no sign that the Mexican is willing to come down on that price at all, casting doubt over whether boxing fans will ever get to see what would be a fascinating matchup in the ring.

Even for a boxer with Alvarez’s resume, facing Benavidez would be a stiff challenge. He’s a three-time WBC super middleweight champion and holds a perfect 28-0 record. His most recent fight was last November against Demetrius Andrade in which Benavidez retained his super middleweight title. Of his 28 career wins, 24 of them have been knockouts. It’s easy to see why he’s a big challenge for Alvarez. There’s also the matter of Benavidez outweighing Alvarez by a solid 25 pounds, if not more.

“The only thing I see is that Benavidez is 25 lbs or 30 lbs heavier than me on the day of the fight. I have no problem with that, but if he wants me to fight him, it’s $200 million,” Alvarez said recently at a charity golf tournament.

From his perspective, collecting such a big payday for fighting someone so much bigger than him only seems fair for Alvarez. However, Benavidez knows that such a number is too big for anyone to pay to see him fight Alvarez.

“Nobody’s going to give $200 million for that,” says Benavidez. ”If somebody can come up [with] $200 million we make a go-fund account, maybe we’ll get it, but as of right now, nobody’s giving $200 million for that fight.”

Furthermore, Benavidez believes that Alvarez is simply using his high money demands as an excuse. He questions how much Alvarez actually wants to fight him and take on the challenge of facing a fighter of his size.

"I think he’s getting put into a corner now where he’s running out of excuses. He said the only thing I bring is 25 extra pounds and I’m not worth nothing, but he’s asking for $200 million.”

Benavidez seems endlessly intrigued by the possibility of fighting Alvarez. Despite his perfect record, he hasn’t necessarily been involved in a lot of high-profile fights against worthy opponents. Rather than getting hung up on fighting a diminutive boxer like Alvarez, Benavidez could boost his profile by moving up a weight class. That would also make it easier for him to find willing opponents. It doesn’t seem like Alvarez is eager to get in the ring with him.

Meanwhile, Alvarez doesn’t need to resort to a fight with Benavidez to garner attention. It’s why he’s not coming down on his $200 million price tag. He’s already had a dozen pay-per-view fights in his career. Those fights have amassed nearly $800 million, averaging over $65 million per fight.

Following his win earlier this month against Jaime Munguia, Alvarez has a record of 61 wins, two losses, and two draws in his career. Of those 61 wins, 39 have been knockouts. Throughout his career, Alvarez has owned world championships in four different weight classes. He has little left to prove and doesn’t need to lower his asking price to get in the ring with Benavidez.

Of course, it’s fun to think about what kind of betting action a fight between Alvarez and Benavidez might receive. There are several boxing betting sites that offer betting markets on fights held throughout the world. This gives boxing fans no shortage of options when it comes to placing a wager on fights.

Alas, an Alvarez vs Benavidez fight is one that may never receive betting odds of any kind. No matter how much Benavidez talks about how much he wants the fight to happen, Alvarez continues to play down the possibility and duck the topic as best he can. Given the rivalry that the two have developed and the back-and-forth between them, Alvarez is unlikely to definitely say “no” to fighting Benavidez. But unless someone is able to raise $200 million to make it happen, boxing fans will be left to only their imaginations as to how an Alvarez vs Benavidez fight might unfold.