Shakur Stevenson has offered a balanced assessment of why a showdown between Canelo Alvarez and David Benavidez is yet to materialise.
The two multi-weight world champions appeared to be on a collision course at 168lbs, with Canelo reigning supreme as the undisputed king.
Benavidez, meanwhile, had held the WBC ‘interim’ title after becoming a two-time world super-middleweight champion, awaiting his mandatory shot at the full WBC title.
Such an opportunity, however, never came to fruition, as Canelo continued to defend his undisputed crown against alternative opposition.
During this time, the Mexican claimed one-sided points victories over the likes of John Ryder and Jermell Charlo but was widely criticised for not facing his most formidable challenger, Benavidez.
Since then, Benavidez has claimed the WBC title at 175lbs and now looks to become a three-weight world champion against Gilberto Ramirez, who he will face for the WBO and WBA cruiserweight titles on May 2.
It may seem an audacious move, but the 29-year-old’s frame could see him develop into an effective operator at 200lbs, while Canelo is seemingly best suited to 168lbs.
The natural size difference has therefore made their clash even less likely, with Stevenson telling Joe Rogan that he believes this to be the most significant factor.
“Benavidez is too big for Canelo. I see both sides. I love Benavidez, and I’m a fan of him, so I see the side of, ‘Fight me, bro’.
“But then I see Canelo’s side. He’s like, ‘Man, this dude is 200lbs on the regular. I’m nowhere near that weight so it’s like, why would I fight this guy?’”
Despite coming off a unanimous decision defeat to Terence Crawford, Canelo has been promised a world title opportunity by Turki Alalshikh in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this September.
Potential options include Christian Mbilli and Jose Armando Resendiz, the respective WBC and WBA champions, while the IBF and WBO super-middleweight world titles remain vacant following Crawford’s retirement.
