Agustin Cuevas/Getty Images

Report: Canelo Alvarez to Be Offered Nearly $50M Guaranteed for David Benavidez Fight

Doric Sam

Canelo Alvarez has yet to announce his next fight, but he reportedly received an eye-popping offer that could entice him to commit to his next opponent.

According to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix, representatives for interim WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez are prepared to offer Alvarez a deal worth "close to $50 million in guaranteed money" to put his undisputed super middleweight titles on the line. Mannix added that the actual purse would be around $40 million, but "splits on gate revenue and PPV upside" would increase the deal to nearly $50 million.

Benavidez is undefeated at 27-0 with 23 knockouts. He claimed the vacant WBC super middleweight title in May 2022 with a third-round TKO win over David Lemieux. He then scored the biggest win of his career when he retained his belt with a unanimous-decision victory against Caleb Plant in March, establishing himself as the top contender for Alvarez's 168-pound titles.

After losing to WBA (Super) light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol a year ago, Alvarez (59-2-2, 30 KOs) returned to the super middleweight division and reeled off back-to-back wins. He outlasted Gennady Golovkin with a unanimous decision in their trilogy bout in September. He followed that up with a one-sided decision win over WBO interim champ John Ryder in his hometown of Guadalajara, Mexico, last month.

Alvarez has yet to respond to the offer from Benavidez's camp, but he has previously expressed interest in a rematch against Bivol. However, their fight wasn't overly competitive and fans weren't clamoring for them to run it back.

A fight against a rising undefeated fighter like Benavidez is sure to spark massive interest, as the 26-year-old is viewed as a legit threat to ending Alvarez's reign as undisputed champion.

   

Read 225 Comments

Download the app for comments Get the B/R app to join the conversation

Install the App
×
Bleacher Report
(120K+)