David Benavidez feels Canelo Alvarez should have pressed for a knockout against Christian Mbilli. However, Canelo still won comfortably, and Benavidez now turns to his own fight with Michal Cieslak on December 12.
Canelo regained the WBC super middleweight world title with a dominant unanimous decision win over Mbilli in Riyadh on Saturday.
Notably, Alvarez came into the fight off the back of a defeat to Terence Crawford last September in which he lost his undisputed 168 pound crown. Moreover, the Mexican great underwent elbow surgery shortly after the bout.
Despite this, Benavidez who missed out on a highly-anticipated showdown with Alvarez, feels his rival should have looked for a knockout. In fact, Alvarez’s last stoppage win came against Caleb Plant in 2021.
Benavidez unimpressed by Canelo display
“We expect him to go in there and knock this guy out,” he told Fight Hub TV. “We don’t expect him to go in there and just look for counter shots.
“If the other guy is not throwing any shots, well then be Canelo.
“Got in there put pressure on. Use you defence. Use your head movement.
“Go in there and take it. Just how he did it with Caleb Plant. He was looking for it until he knocked him out.”
Benavidez also pointed to the size of Canelo’s purse as a reason to take more risks.
“You’re getting $40m or $50m, that’s a lot of money. You could be ready to push it to the limit for every single round.”
Benavidez faces Cieslak on December 12
Meanwhile, as Canelo celebrates his return to the top, Benavidez returns to action in a world cruiserweight title unification against Michal Cieslak on December 12.
‘The Mexican Monster’ looks to add Cieslak’s IBF crown to his WBA and WBO titles in Arizona.
Then, if Benavidez beats Cieslak, a mouthwatering clash with Jai Opetaia could await. However, on Wednesday it was confirmed that Opetaia will move up to heavyweight to face Deontay Wilder on the Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua undercard on December 11 in Cardiff.
Furthermore, Oleksandr Usyk is targeting a mega fight with Benavidez and plans to return to cruiserweight following nine bouts at heavyweight.
After all, the Ukrainian previously won the undisputed title at cruiserweight and hopes to land a Benavidez fight for the undisputed crown.
