Shane Mosley Jr., the middleweight contender, believes David Benavidez’s youth benefit would allow him to defeat Canelo Alvarez if the 2 battle this 12 months.
The 27-year-old Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) is seven years youthful than the 34-year-old Canelo Alvarez, and he hasn’t had the identical robust fights as him in opposition to warriors like Gennadiy Golovkin, Miguel Cotto, Jaime Munguia, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Dmitry Bivol and Sergey Kovalev.
Benaviez’s profession resume is poor compared, and that’s one of many explanation why he’s criticized a lot. He’s taken a straightforward path to the highest with just one notable in his prime identify, Caleb Plant, and Canelo had already knocked him out.
Contemplating how huge Benavidez is, you’ll be able to’t name him a real tremendous middleweight as a result of he boils down in weight from gentle heavyweight to compete in opposition to smaller fighters at 168.
Benavidez: A Trendy-Day Chavez Jr?
You may argue that Benavidez is a weight bully, and he has been his total profession. He’s doing what Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. did earlier in his profession, draining big quantities of weight to compete at 154 and 160 and win fights in opposition to notable opposition.
Benavidez is that this period’s model of Chavez Jr. with how he drains right down to benefit from smaller opposition in a weight class that he shouldn’t be combating as a result of his big, light-heavy-sized body. What Benavidez is doing is similar factor Chavez Jr. did.
Youthful followers who weren’t following the game years in the past aren’t conscious of Chavez Jr.’s success again then. They solely know him from what he grew to become later in his profession after he might not meltdown to compete at 154 and 160.
He was a a lot totally different fighter early on when he loved an enormous dimension benefit over his opponents at junior middleweight and middleweight. He was doing what Benavidez is doing now, combating nicely beneath his weight class.
Chavez Jr.’s Early Success and Downfall
Chavez Jr. loved a lot success by melting in weight to compete in these weight lessons, beating many prime fighters, and capturing a world title at middleweight in 2011. Nevertheless, as soon as he might not make weight for 160, his profession went downhill quickly.
Throughout Chavez Jr’s prime from 2008 to 2014, he beat these good fighters:
– Andy Lee
– Brian Vera
– Sebastian Zbik
– Marco Antonio Rubio
– John Duddy
– Peter Manfredo Jr
I imagine the identical factor will occur with David Benavidez as soon as he’s pressured to battle at 175 completely. We now have already gotten a glimpse of the issues Benavidez can have at gentle heavyweight in his debut in opposition to 37-year-old Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June fifteenth.
Benavidez had main issues beating Gvozdyk, and the battle was a lot nearer than the three judges’ one-sided scores. The battle confirmed that Benavidez is one other Chavez Jr., and his profession will sink when he can not drain right down to 168.
“I sparred him years in the past, and he’s turn into an excellent fighter since,” stated Shane Mosley Jr. to Professional Boxing Followers, speaking about Canelo Alvarez. “He’s carried out all of it. He’s had a legendary and doubtless one of many best careers in boxing.
“He’s fought everyone. He’s carried out all it’s good to do. He doesn’t have to essentially battle a man like David Benavidez. David Benavidez must battle him. However clearly, so long as he’s going to be within the sport, everyone goes to level out that identify and level out that battle for him as a result of they wish to see the very best battle the very best.”
Canelo isn’t a lightweight heavyweight, and that’s the issue he would have in opposition to Benavidez as a result of that man doesn’t belong at 168.
If there was a 10-lb rehydration clause, I don’t suppose he would make weight for the secondary weigh-in. Benavidez might drain right down to make 168, however he possible couldn’t preserve from rehydrating as much as the 180s or 190s. Canelo shouldn’t be anticipated to battle somebody that huge for a match at tremendous middleweight. Nobody ought to.
“I feel it’s an excellent battle. I might like to see it occur. I don’t suppose it essentially must occur, however I might like to see it occur,” stated Mosley Jr. “I feel David Benavidez is likely to be just a little bit too younger, so far as I feel he would have the benefit due to the youth,” stated Mosley Jr. about his perception that Benavidez can be too recent for Canelo.
If Canelo had fought at gentle heavyweight and had rehydrated into the 190s, combating Benavidez wouldn’t have been a difficulty, however that’s not the state of affairs right here. Benavidez ought to be combating in his pure weight class at 175 and give attention to going through killers like Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol as an alternative of competing at 168.
“He has the more energizing physique. They’re each explosive. They each throw good mixtures. They’re each veterans, however due to the youth, I feel Benavidez is likely to be just a little bit too younger and recent for him,” stated Shane Jr.
Benavidez is recent at 168, however he’s a mean fighter at 175, and I feel will probably be an issue for him as soon as he can not make weight at 168. I feel Benavidez will keep at 168 for so long as he can as a result of he is aware of it’s the tip of the highway as soon as he’s pressured to battle at 175.
