Roy Jones Jr. is in opposition to the numerous boxing fanatics who consider Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is ducking David Benavidez.
A former four-division world champion – Jones – believes Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) is simply delaying the battle with Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) to make the perfect out of it on the proper time.
Jones’ remark is in contradiction with the likes of legendary Floyd Mayweather, Mike Tyson, Andre Ward, and Paulie Malignaggi, amongst others, who’ve criticized the 34-year-old’s choice to keep away from what has been described by many as the most important 168-pound battle immediately.
Commenting on a attainable Canelo-Benavidez bout, the retired Jones mentioned he doesn’t consider that Canelo is petrified of Benavidez.
“There’s an actual danger there for him in taking the battle,” Jones informed Combat Hub TV. “I imply, after all, he is like every other champion. He needs to make you guys salivate what y’all wish to make or pay for, which is wise.
“I do not assume he is petrified of Benavidez, however Benavidez is a tricky order for anyone proper now, particularly if you happen to’re on the prime of your sport as a result of he is very busy.”
Canelo presently holds the WBC and WBO 168 kilos titles having been stripped of his IBF crown after the Mexican introduced his Sept. 14 conflict with Edgar Berlanga in Las Vegas. Canelo has held the titles since 2021 when he earned an Eleventh-round TKO win over Caleb Plant.
All through his sterling profession, Canelo has confronted stiffer oppositions reminiscent of Mayweather, Gennadiy Golovkin, Billy Joe Saunders, Dmitrii Bivol, Jermell Charlo, and Jaime Munguia amongst others. Nevertheless, many consider he ought to tackle the dreaded undefeated Benavidez to cement his legacy.
In the meantime, the shortcoming of Benavidez to get a shot at preventing Canelo pressured the 27-year-old Arizona native to maneuver as much as 175 kilos to face Oleksandr Gvozdyk in a WBC interim mild heavyweight championship battle.
When requested if Canelo was shying away from preventing Benavidez because of the Mexican’s worry of shedding his standing as king of 168, Jones disagreed with the assertion regardless of admitting to the battle being dangerous for Canelo.
“He is huge. He is efficient. He is aggressive. All of the issues you do not need in a fighter, David’s gonna be there as that opponent. You get me? So, every thing you do not wanna see in your opponent, David’s gonna be there as his. Now does that imply they can not beat David? No. However he needs to be sure that he makes you guys wait and ask and beg lengthy sufficient that y’all will not pay for it, then he’ll take his probability as a result of he is aware of too that it’s a dangerous probability he is taking.
“Now, he ain’t gonna say what the heck he’s, however he must be a tad bit hungrier than Canelo for that spot. You already know what I am saying? Canelo was in that spot. David needs that spot. So, it must be the hungry man who must be cautious as a result of Canelo can punch.”
Jones famous that Canelo should be hungry for an additional huge battle to both make the Benavidez or Terence “Bud” Crawford battle occur.
“It is only a matter of simply how hungry Canelo might be. It is a bizarre factor as a result of, like, when you concentrate on it, what is the greatest battle that Canelo will be in at this level? And you’d say both Crawford or Benavidez.”
Bernard Neequaye is a sports activities journalist with a specialty in boxing protection. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He will be reached on X (previously Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and thru e-mail at bernardneequaye@gmail.com.
