Jose Benavidez reacts to Canelo leaving before his son even got into the ring to fight Zurdo Ramirez on Cinco De Mayo 2026.
It was a strange sight.
Given that Benavidez and Canelo are the two best boxers of Mexican descent in the world pound for pound today.
David Benavidez’ father Jose Benavidez said by all accounts some of the following after.
- He mocked Canelo for leaving the arena before the main event, claiming Canelo only came for the undercard fights and wasn’t interested in staying.
- Benavidez Sr. said: “Thank God he left… otherwise he would have got really scared” after seeing David’s dominant KO performance.
- He added that after such an impressive win, “I would leave too”, implying Canelo left out of fear or intimidation.
- He used the moment to say Canelo “is not the same no more,” looks tired, and suggested this marks the beginning of David’s era.
At the end of the day for the fight to happen it would need to be at super-middleweight.
Alvarez campaigns at 168 pounds and Benavidez is all the way up at cruiserweight.
Benavidez has moved way up in the pound for pound boxing rankings for us since — higher than Canelo.
Canelo remains a much bigger name and the A side in talks for a fight given his fan base though.
