Benavidez wants Canelo after latest victory: ‘I would love that fight’

David Benavidez knows no matter how many titles he collects, one of the first questions after each of his victories is going to be about another star boxer.

The news conference following his unanimous-decision victory over previously-unbeaten David Morrell at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night was no exception.

So, will Benavidez finally get the fight against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez that he has been chasing for years?

“I don’t know,” Benavidez said. “You guys keep asking me about that fight and I know as much as you guys do. I would love that fight. I’d love to fight Canelo. It would be a massive, massive fight. But he says he has other things and that I’m being too mean in the way I approach him, so I guess I have to work on my attitude.”

The 28-year-old Benavidez (30-0) has long claimed Alvarez simply won’t accept the challenge. Benavidez, a Las Vegas resident, said last week on a podcast the most recent offer to Alvarez was $70 million plus a share of the back end on pay-per-view sales.

It has yet to be accepted, which is enough in Benavidez’s mind to convince him the fight won’t happen. He’ll likely have to come up with a different plan instead.

That probably means facing the winner of the Feb. 22 rematch between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev to unify all the light heavyweight belts.

Benavidez indicated he may accept an invitation to attend the fight in Saudi Arabia.

“I’d love to go,” he said. “Right now I just want a break because I’ve been training four and a half months preparing for this fight. But I’d love to go over there and I’d love to fight either of those guys. It’s what I’m here for. I feel like every fight I take is going to be the hardest fight until the next one and that’s how it should be because we should be going up in competition and taking on the best of the best. If you look at my track record, I have a really good resume. Every fighter has been better than the previous one. I’m happy I get to show what level I’m on and continue to progress in my career.”

While Benavidez said he wouldn’t mind the trip to Saudi Arabia, he was far less enthusiastic about the prospect of fighting there.

Benavidez said he’s been working to build his fan base his entire career. He was rewarded Saturday in his adopted hometown.

“I’m a Las Vegas fighter and my fan base is here,” Benavidez said. “I would love to go over there and fight, but this is my market and I feel like we’re doing really well. It’s a dream come true to me and I want to take advantage of this market because I’ve worked 11 years for this and that’s my first time having a crowd like that, so I want to stay here. And I think the fight would be even bigger here, to be honest.”

Benavidez feels he rewarded those fans with a good show Saturday, even beyond just the action-packed battle against Morrell.

He helped contribute to an intriguing, yet somewhat contrived, buildup to the fight with some explosive news conference moments. But he also talked some trash in the ring, taunted Morrell a bit and even spoke into the camera between rounds.

“I’m having fun in these fights and this is really my passion,” Benavidez said. “I’ve evolved not only as a fighter, but I’ve been able to speak better through the years. I’m just having fun with this and becoming my own character. I feel like I’m going to be the face of boxing soon and I can really take over the sport, especially with performances like this.

“I don’t run from anybody. We’re going toe-to-toe the whole fight. I give the people what they want to see.”

Unless they want to see him fight Alvarez. That doesn’t appear likely. So Benavidez said he’s going to keep it simple.

“I think I showed what level I’m on,” he said. “I’m excited to keep putting on great fights, calling out the best fighters and taking them on in big arenas like this.

“This is what I’m made for.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.