By Allan Fox: Showtime president of Sports Stephen Espinoza says David Benavidez, Jermall Charlo & Caleb Plant are going to continue to be involved in big fights, and their careers are going to be frozen while waiting for Canelo Alvarez.
The ‘Face of Boxing,’ Canelo has a lot of unpredictability with the direction of his career right now. He just absorbed a tough loss to WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, and he has a decision to make whether to rematch him or not.
Whether Canelo does decide to fight Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) again or not, he’s not expected to look in the direction of Benavidez, Charlo, or Plant this year. In Benavidez’s case, he may never give him the fight that he’s been asking for after what he went through against Bivol.
Luckily for those three popular fighters, they’re all with PBC and fight on Showtime. As a result, putting fights together between Charlo, Plant & Benavidez is relatively easy.
“I’d throw Plant in there as well. Who knows what Canelo’s plans are? He’s got a lot of options as he always has,” said Showtime boss Stephen Espinoza said to Fighthype when asked if the possibility of David Benavidez fighting Jermall Charlo has increased following Canelo Alvarez’s recent loss.
“In talking to each of those guys, whether it’s David [Benavidez] or Jermall, no one is going to sit around and tread water waiting for a big fight.
“We’ve seen that happen, and sometimes it used to happen with Floyd and sometimes with Canelo. Everything sort of freezes with people waiting to get picked.
“That’s not what David and Jermall want to do. They’re certainly going to pursue those fights if they can be made, but if they can’t be made, you still have to do those career-defining fights. That is what David wants, and that’s what Jermall wants,” said Espinoza.
It would be ideal if Benavidez and Charlo fight each other in late 2022, as that would not only give them a huge fight but would increase their popularity.
Even if Canelo is tied up with fights against Bivol & Gennadiy Golovkin this year, Benavidez and Charlo would be building their own name brand without his help.
“His personality and he’s matured physically, and he’s matured personality,” said Espinoza about Benavidez. “What’s so exciting about David is that he’s sort of like an NBA player. Everyone loves an NBA player that is 6’10” but can dribble a basketball. A Kevin Garnett.
“That’s what David is. There are not too many super middleweights at his height that can throw an eight-punch combination as he can. So, he’s got the skill set of a little guy but the power and impressive athleticism of a big guy.
“I think that’s why the ceiling is so high for him. He’s just so much fun to watch. We live in a world where everything is an instant overreaction,” said Espinoza when asked what is the best thing that can come from a Canelo Alvarez loss.
“This doesn’t mean he’s not good, he’s not an all-time great, he’s not a pound-for-pound. What this really reminds us is that none of us really know anything.
“Everyone said, ‘Oh, that’s an easy fight [Bivol], and this that and the other.’ Others say it’s a difficult fight. People love the unpredictability of the sport. Even though you think you’re pretty sure you know what’s going to happen, you never know.
“I’ll give you another name that hasn’t really got to that level yet, but he will pretty soon, and he’s on Showtime coming up in June is David Morrell.
“David Morrell obviously had a big amateur background and only a handful of fights. He’s going to be in that mix pretty soon, being mentioned in those top-tier elite fights,” said Espinoza.
Benavidez (25-0, 22 KOs) will be headlining on Showtime next Saturday, May 21st, against former IBF middleweight champion David Lemieux (43-4, 36 KOs) in a battle for the interim WBC super-middleweight title at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
The winner of the Benavidez vs. Lemieux fight will be in a position to be elevated to the WBC 168-lb champion status soon if Canelo continues to choose to fight at 175.
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