By CESAR PORTILLO
SAN ANTONIO - During his reign as two-time super middleweight champion between 2017 and early 2024, David Benavidez relentlessly pursued a blockbuster fight with Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez.
But after a long, fruitless wait, the much hoped for showdown between "The Mexican Monster" and the sport's No. 1 draw never materialized.
Experts and fight analysts believed that Benavidez was a high-risk bout for Alvarez.
The numbers seem to suggest the claims, too.
Benavidez is four years younger than Alvarez. He is five inches taller and enjoys a four-inch reach advantage. And while Canelo has an impressive record of 62-2 with 39 KOs, so does Benavidez at 29-0 with 24 stoppages.
Alvarez versus Benavidez will go down in history as one of the best super middleweight fights that never occurred.
Let there be light heavyweight
Finally, Benavidez is done waiting. Last June he moved up to the light heavyweight division saying "the time to play is over" and beat Oleksandr Gvozdyk via unanimous decision.
With the WBC interim belt on hand, Benavidez will punch for the WBA version of the belt held by David Morrell Jr. on February 1 at the T-Mobile Arena.
With Canelo Alvarez behind now, Benavidez is out to unify the 175-pound division.
Can he do it?
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