Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, hailing from Mexico, is undeniably one of the best boxers the world has seen in the past decade. He has already cemented his legacy in the sport of boxing and will undoubtedly be considered one of the greatest when he chooses to ride off into the sunset.
However, despite Canelo’s unquestionable greatness, the Mexican boxer has recently faced criticism for his inactivity since September of last year and other narratives created by the internet, which are doing nothing but casting shadows on the illustrious legacy of Canelo.
Canelo Alvarez’s $60 million rejection leaves Mike Tyson stunned
Alvarez, who was last seen victorious in a one-sided beatdown against Jermell Charlo on September 30th, 2023, is yet to book another opponent since. The boxer who grabbed the primary spotlight for being next in line to face the Mexican was David ‘El Monstruo’ Benavidez.
Fans became excited envisioning just how good of a fight this would be, with Alvarez being on the top of the mountain and defending his throne, and a hungry and undefeated killer in Benavidez trying his best to seize it. Sadly for fans however, this fight has fell through as of now, and all the blame has been thrown upon Alvarez for the situation.
Canelo was reportedly made an offer by his promotional unit, the Premier Boxing Champions(PBC) of 60 million dollars to fight David Benavidez. An official source is yet to surface, but every rumor is pointing towards the fact that Alvarez has allegedly turned down the offer.
PBC OFFER CANELO $55M TO FIGHT BENAVIDEZ 💰
— IFL TV (@IFLTV) February 23, 2024
PBC has reportedly offered Canelo Alvarez $55m to fight David Benavidez with Benavidez signed to fight Oleksandr Gvozdyk for the WBC 'Interim' 175lbs title IF Canelo rejects the offer ‼️
Do you think he will accept it? 👀… pic.twitter.com/51GQyQiNb4
Turning down a fight is one of the worst looks a fighter’s profile can have, and these rumors have placed Alvarez in the spotlight like he hasn’t been in years in his professional career. The magnitude of the situation is such that it drew a response from one of boxing’s pioneers, Mike Tyson, who openly expressed his disappointment in Canelo for not taking the fight.
Mike stated, “If I were him, I would accept the fight with Benavidez and show the world that he is the best. But it seems he doesn’t have the courage to do it; It is a shame, because he has a lot of talent, but he lacks heart.”
Jaime Munguai holds WBC accountable over Canelo Alvarez’s David Benavidez rejection
Since the bout between Canelo and Benavidez has fell through, the Mexican has been reported to be facing Jaime Munguai on May 4th. Munguai, being in the limelight at present, recently criticized his opponent for “ducking” David Benavidez, but put the blame of the situation on the WBC, making them accountable for not scheduling the fight as they are the primary organization holding the power to do so.
Jaime stated “Well, I think that if it is a law, it is supposed that the organization… I don’t know why they are not doing it. I think that it is the organizations that are in the wrong.” Adding up to all this, even his fight with Canelo now seems to be in trouble with Alvarez showing interest to fight another opponent.
‼️ Canelo Alvarez would reportedly prefer to fight Edgar Berlanga in May and then Jaime Munguia in September, despite reports claiming he's already decided on Munguia next. It's said that it's in fact DAZN who want Munguia first – no final decision yet. [According to @DanRafael1] pic.twitter.com/MyJhmA5zAb
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) February 27, 2024
The state of boxing and more notably, the career of Canelo Alvarez, seems to have been caught amidst chaos, but it is expected that all will fall in place and we will see the Mexican great fight all the fights that he is supposed to partake in.