David Benavidez wants Canelo v Crawford 2: 'I think Canelo does better'

Benavidez expects a close fight, and says Alvarez should have gone after the knockout against Christian Mbilli for the money he earns.

David Benavidez says he would love to see Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford fight again, and he thinks Alvarez would improve on their first meeting.

"I think honestly that would be the only other fight I want to see Canelo against," Benavidez told Fight Hub TV. "Canelo, Crawford. And then I think Canelo does better." He stopped short of predicting that Alvarez would take Crawford out. "I think it'd be a close fight," he said.

His reasoning goes back to Gennady Golovkin. "When Canelo had that close fight with, uh, Golovkin, the second fight he came in more fierce, more conditioned," Benavidez said. Alvarez and Golovkin drew in 2017, and Alvarez won the rematch by majority decision in 2018.

Benavidez said Alvarez wore an easy money shirt around the first Crawford fight, with Crawford coming up three weight classes, and that he thought Alvarez let that get to his head. He said Alvarez would take what worked for Crawford and try to neutralise it, and that a second fight would be better than the first. He also expects Crawford to improve, saying: "He's a great fighter."

Crawford beat Alvarez by unanimous decision in September 2025 and has since retired. No rematch has been booked, though Alvarez's trainer Eddy Reynoso said he would like Crawford next after Alvarez beat Christian Mbilli in Riyadh.

Benavidez was less impressed by that win. In the same interview he said Alvarez had more tools than Mbilli, who he said was fighting scared, and was not pursuing the knockout as he should have been. He said a fighter getting $40 million or $50 million could push it to the limit in every round. Alvarez was expected to receive a base fee of $47 million for the fight. Benavidez also said he was not being a hater and called it a great performance.

Benavidez, the WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion, fights Michal Cieslak on 5 December for three cruiserweight belts.

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