David Benavidez’s voice contains no frustration when he talks about his inability to secure a fight with Canelo Alvarez.
It's a fight he says never will take place after years of chasing it.
“I can say with confidence that fight is never going to happen,” Benavidez, 29, said on the Last Stand Podcast that published this week. “I don’t want to keep calling someone out who doesn’t want to fight.”
For years, Alvarez was the tantalizing opponent who could have given Benavidez instant credibility and potential stardom. A victory over the Mexican boxing legend could have catapulted Benavidez to the top of the sport.
But Benavidez no longer needs a 36-year-old, faded legend like Alvarez.
There was a window of maybe five to seven years when a fight made sense.
Alvarez sidestepped it. Benavidez got bigger and stronger. Benavidez could destroy Alvarez.
Who would that serve? Neither fighter, and not boxing either.
Benavidez carves own path
Benavidez is supremely gifted, with a combination of power and hand speed and an appetite for punishment – mostly inflicted on others but also absorbed.
He has carved out a unique path, and this is where Benavidez has arrived: He is the WBC light heavyweight champion and the WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion. He is 32-0 with 26 knockouts and there is no evidence he and Alvarez are on a collision course.
Alvarez is mapping out the end of his career. He is 63-3-2 with 39 KOs and scheduled to fight Christian Mbilli Oct. 31 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He is planning the final fights of his career, not for a war.
It will mark Alvarez’s first fight since he lost to Terence Crawford by unanimous decision more than a year ago. When twilight set in for the future Hall of Famer.
Benavidez is building a legacy worthy of a spot in the International Hall of Fame. He is scheduled to fightMichal Cieslak on Dec. 5 in a world cruiserweight title fight.
Then the fun may begin.
What's next for Benavidez
Benavidez has climbed from the supermiddleweight to the light heavyweight and up to the ranks of cruiserweight.
Now he's contemplating fighting as a heavyweight, too, rather than settling in at one weight.
He has said he plans to sign a three-fight contract featuring fights against cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia, former undisputed Artur Beterbiev and former undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Alvarez is not on the list of upcoming opponents.
“Canelo, at the end of the day, he’s a great fighter,’’ Benavidez said on Brian Custer’s Last Stand Podcast. ”He’s a legend. And, you know, I would like to be a legend like him and follow in his footsteps and become a great fighter like him.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: David Benavidez no longer needs Canelo fight to cement his legacy