Canelo Alvarez has once again shut down the possibility of a showdown with David Benavidez, unless he is paid at least $150m.
Undisputed super middleweight champion, Canelo has previously been dismissive of Benavidez, who is the number one contender to his WBC title and viewed as arguably his most tough challenge, in what is one of the most highly-anticipated fights in all of boxing.
The 33-year-old was speaking to reporters in Los Angeles on Tuesday to promote his May 4 clash with compatriot Jaime Munguia at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and once again distanced himself from a fight with the Phoenix man, unless he was paid an astronomical figure.
“He brings nothing to the table for me,” Alvarez said.
“He brings just 25 pounds more in the fight on the night.
“He’s nothing to offer me money, I’m the one.
“But, if one promoter who I work [with], they come and say, ‘I’ll offer to you $150m-$200m,’ I’ll fight tomorrow.
“That’s the only reason I’ll fight with him, because the only thing he brings to the table is 25 more pounds.”
Benavidez’s promoter Sampson Lewkowicz claimed that Alvarez was offered $55m to face the 27-year-old, which has since been denied by his trainer and manager, Eddy Reynoso.
Despite widespread calls for a mouthwatering clash and question marks over whether his legacy will be tarnished if he doesn’t face ‘The Mexican Monster’, the Guadalajara native insists he has nothing to prove in a career which was almost certainly see him listed as a first ballot Hall of Famer.
“I don’t need to fight anybody,” he added.
“I don’t need to prove anybody anything, because I remember when this happened with [Gennady] Golovkin.
“So I don’t to prove anything with anybody, so this fight with Jaime Munguia you need to respect, because this fight is more important than other fights.
“So it is what it is.
“You remember when you guys asked me [to fight] Golovkin and I fought with Golovkin and then Callum Smith and then Billy Joe Saunders and then Caleb Plant, so it’s never enough for you guys.
“So I don’t need to prove anything to anybody anymore.
“I’ve done everything in my career.”
Alvarez initially penned a three-fight deal with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions, but the agreement was terminated by mutual consent last month after just one bout, a unanimous decision over former undisputed super welterweight champion, Jermell Charlo last September.
When Canelo signed with PBC, they were aligned with SHOWTIME, but after the network giant bowed out of the sport in December, Haymon moved his stable over to Amazon Prime.
According to boxing insider Dan Rafael, Haymon was looking to change the terms of the pact, which had called for fights with former middleweight titlist Jermall Charlo and former welterweight champion, Errol Spence Jr.
Haymon was reportedly unwilling to pay Alvarez his $35m guarantee to face Charlo unless he agreed to face Benavidez in September, which was not part of the initial agreement.
With the four-weight world champion seemingly on the verge of moving back to Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, who have promoted six of his last eight bouts, for clashes with Munguia and Edgar Berlanga, he opted to re-sign with PBC to headline an Amazon pay-per-view card against Munguia, his first Mexican opponent since Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in 2017.
