Canelo Alvarez has taken to flagrantly disrespecting the sport of boxing by blatantly ignoring the rules set by the various institutions that allow him to become a champion, as he revealed in a recent interview that he would only fight his mandatory contender, David Benavidez, if he was offered an extraordinary sum of money. While Alvarez is currently set to face Mexican contender Jaime Munguia on May 4th, the undisputed 168 lbs champion appears to have no intention to fulfill his mandatory obligations as a champion as he confirmed following the Alvarez-Munguia press conference that he would continue to do whatever pleased him.
Canelo Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KO’s) is one of the most popular fighters of his generation, having competed in numerous title bouts and faced significant opponents who have helped catapult him to the very top of the sport. However, the “face of boxing”, as Alvarez has been considered as, has no intentions to actually be a champion; despite holding all four of the major titles which has made him the undisputed champion of the super middleweight champion.
While David Benavidez (28-0, 24 KO’s) has been appointed a mandatory challenger to Canelo’s WBC belt twice in the span of a year, the sanctioning body has already openly declared that they would not mandate Alvarez to face Benavidez. This was further confirmed by Alvarez himself who―despite being subject to the WBC’s own rules regarding mandatory title defenses―seems to have heavily misinterpreted the point of being a champion, and the obligations that come with it.
“He [David Benavidez] brings nothing to the table for me,” Canelo Alvarez stated to reporters on March 19th after the press conference held between him and Jaime Munguia (43-0, 34 KO’s) for their May 4th fight. “He just brings twenty-five pounds [lbs] more on the fight of the night. That’s it. He has nothing to offer me. When a promoter comes and says, ‘I offer you $150 million’, I’ll fight [him] tomorrow.“
Canelo Alvarez’ words cannot be interpreted in any other manner but disrespectful, as fighting David Benavidez is simply a matter of obligation given Benavidez’ WBC mandatory challenger status. Though WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman offered up excuses as to why he refused to order Alvarez and Benavidez to face each other, Benavidez competed in two separate elimination matches which should have granted him an opportunity to face Alvarez.
However, due to the WBC’s refusal to order this match, and Benavidez’ interim champion status not allowing him to be ordered to face Alvarez by other sanctioning bodies, Alvarez has been able to get away with his mandatory obligations which should have seen him face Benavidez or be forced to relinquish his WBC title for refusing to do so.
The WBC’s refusal to mandate a Alvarez-Benavidez bout is the core issue at hand, with the sanctioning body barely being criticized or scrutinized for a decision they would make for any other champion. While this blatant form of corruption has been overlooked, the WBC’s own rules are quite clear on what Alvarez is supposed to do, and the repercussions for him not following the rules.
As Canelo Alvarez is the holder of the WBC title, he is factually subject to the sanctioning bodies’ rules; which do not seem to apply to him due to his status in the sport. This is further corroborated by Alvarez’ own words when he dismissed Benavidez as an opponent while ignoring the contender’s mandatory challenger and interim champion status while stating Benavidez had “nothing to offer“.
As a choice for the defense of Alvarez’ super middleweight titles, Jaime Munguia makes the most sense for Canelo Alvarez to face on May 4th during the Mexican-oriented Cinco de Mayo weekend as Munguia is Mexican like Alvarez himself, and a legitimate contender.
However, as a champion, Alvarez has duties to fulfill; duties that fell on the WBC to enforce due to David Benavidez being the only mandatory contender left in the division. While there are other contenders in the division, WBA ‘regular’ champion David Morrell’s (10-0, 9 KO’s) own WBA belt does not grant him an automatic mandatory status, and Munguia has not been confirmed to be a mandatory challenger either, thus all indicators pointed towards Benavidez being up next for Alvarez’ titles.
Benavidez currently carries a significant reputation, having been a world champion on at least two occasions and having earned his way into the mandatory challenger position by defeating Caleb Plant (22-2, 13 KO’s) and Demetrius Andrade (32-1, 19 KO’s) in matches that were ruled by the WBC itself as “final elimination” matches―which are supposed to ensure the winner will become the mandatory contender of the WBC.
Disappointedly, Alvarez’ flagrant abuse of his status has yet to be called out by any significant media or boxing organization, preventing his public avoidance of a mandatory challenger from being scrutinized as it should.
As it stands now, as long as the WBC refuses to order a match they should have mandated last year, Canelo Alvarez will continue to disrespect the foundations set in the sport, and further lessen the reputation and standing of boxing with his behavior threatening to trickle over into future generations. With the WBC also unlikely to strip Canelo Alvarez if a day ever arrived where they ordered the match and Alvarez refused to face Benavidez, this case is a prime example of an abuse of power and authority, and highlights the corruption that continues to gradually destroy and disassemble the sport of boxing.
