Yahoo Sports Report: Canelo Alvarez offered $50M for super middleweight title bout with David Benavidez
According to a tweet from Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, an offer in the $50 million range will be presented to undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez by representatives of unbeaten interim WBC champion David Benavidez.
An Alvarez-Benavidez fight would be a significant match, given Alvarez's overall popularity and the interest in both fighters from the Mexican and Mexican American communities.
Both fighters scored dominant wins in their last outing. Alvarez returned from hand surgery to dominate John Ryder, winning a one-sided unanimous decision on May 6 in Alvarez's hometown of Guadalajara, Mexico. Alvarez won by scores of 118-109 twice and 120-107.
Benavidez scored perhaps the most impressive win of his career on March 25 in Las Vegas when he won a clear decision over Caleb Plant by scores of 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113. That fight clearly established Benavidez as the biggest threat to Alvarez's reign atop the 168-pound class.
Actual purse would be in the neighborhood of $40 million, per source. Splits on gate revenue and PPV upside would push the total package to close to $50 million. https://t.co/70D22c67oM
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) June 1, 2023
There has been no response from Alvarez's side. Late Wednesday, Benavidez promoter Sampson Lewkowicz released a letter he'd written to Alvarez trainer/manager Eddy Reynoso confirming he'd made what he termed a "lucrative" offer. He did not specify terms of the offer.
But he expressed disappointment at Reynoso for dismissing his offer and wrote that he'd transmitted it on Monday at 4:45 p.m.:
Dear Eddy Reynoso,
Since you have chosen to conduct our negotiations for David Benavidez to face Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in public, I’m forced to correct a few mistakes you made in claiming you haven’t received any offers.
On Monday May 29 at 4:45 pm, I emailed you what I’m sure would be one of the most lucrative offers of Canelo Alverez’s career to face Benavidez.
Please know that you do indeed have an offer to face Benavidez, a sizeable one, and I must tell you that I’m offended by your claim that I’m “fantasizing” about making this fight happen.
If you are also unable to find this open letter and no one tells you about it, would anyone who knows him please let Eddy know that I will send this same offer any time for him to communicate to Canelo Alvarez.
All he needs to do is provide a working email address, apparently.
Sincerely, Sampson Lewkowicz
Alvarez has been angling for a rematch with Dmitry Bivol, the WBA light heavyweight champion who scored a unanimous decision victory over him last year. Getting that fight for the fall has been the stated purpose of both Alvarez and Reynoso.
However, the Alvarez-Bivol fight outcome was clear cut and it wasn't the typically huge Alvarez pay-per-view draw. A fight with Benavidez could not only be a better fight in the ring but also a more compelling business proposition.
