Boxing

David Benavidez Reveals The Reason Canelo Alvarez Refused To Spar Him

David Benavidez has claimed that Canelo Alvarez refused to spar him for one particular reason.
Apratim Banerjee|
IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

David Benavidez has claimed that Canelo Alvarez refused to spar him for one specific reason.

Benavidez and Canelo are two of the leading Mexican boxers of this era. A fight between the pair has often captured fans' imaginations. The epic showdown, though, is yet to take place.

Benavidez has now revealed that he was supposed to spar Canelo back in the day. However, Alvarez's camp called him and said that as Benavidez was sparring with Genadiy Golovkin, they didn't want to entertain him. Canelo's camp wanted to keep their weapons to themselves.

Benavidez even claimed that Canelo wouldn't have fought him had they sparred. Speaking to Steven Cureno III on the KO Artists Sports show, the Mexican pugilist said:

That was the smartest thing he (Canelo) has ever done. I was sparring GGG…then they called saying ‘We know you’re sparring GGG…we don’t want you to give our secrets away’. But I would have kept that sh*t to myself. If I would have sparred him…he would never want to fight me because he would see what level I’m at.
David Benavidez

David Benavidez boasts an impressive 29-0-0 professional record. He returns on February 1, taking on David Morrell. He is often regarded as the next face of Mexican boxing.

Canelo Alvarez, meanwhile, is arguably one of the greatest boxers ever. Few can match what he has achieved inside the squared circle and the 34-year-old possesses a record of 62-2-2. He beat Edgar Berlanga via unanimous decision in his last fight back in September.

Any official update regarding Canelo's potential next fight is yet to come.

Canelo Alvarez in action against Edgar Berlanga
IMAGO / Agencia-MexSport

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Apratim Banerjee
APRATIM BANERJEE

Apratim is a Boxing and Soccer reporter for On SI. He has been in the industry for five years, having also worked for The Sporting News, Sportskeeda, EssentiallySports, and more. After coming from an engineering background, he started pursuing a career in sports media. Apratim also holds an MSc. Sport Marketing degree from Loughborough University London and is a keen practitioner of social media and digital marketing. In his spare time, Apratim likes to play an array of sports and practice calisthenics. He is also an avid enthusiast of improving his martial arts skills.