Canelo vs. GGG: The Third Chapter
Let me start by saying, no matter what Canelo says or thinks; he knows that Benavides did not lose his belt in the ring. The dismissal of Benavides’ claim that he should be in the conversation for a title fight should not annoy or dismay Canelo.
My biggest issue with Canelo; at one time, he was the young up-and-coming contender, calling people out, thinking he deserved to be in the ring with Floyd Mayweather. Eventually, he was given his opportunity and was utterly outclassed by an older Mayweather. That brings me to David Benavides; he was a title holder and wants a chance to regain that title. Canelo doesn’t have to oblige, but the optics are not in his favor.
Now let’s talk about the recent fight, Canelo vs. GGG’s ghost; Canelo needed a confidence boost and chose a 40-year-old GGG. This fight was not intriguing, exciting, or in my opinion, worthy of a PPV. GGG looked every bit of his 40 years of age, he looked slow, tentative, and at times it looked like he was trying to survive and collect a paycheck.
Adding insult to injury in the post-fight presser, Canelo claims that he came into the fight with a wrist injury, attributing to his performance drop-off around round 8. To paraphrase Canelo, “we couldn’t do explosive training, which led to an energy dip after round 8.” I will give Canelo his props for taking a fight when he is not 100%, but you have to deduct points for fighting what looked like an over-the-hill GGG.
My overall takeaway is that Canelo needs to recover and rehabilitate from his injury and then focus on what would be a worthy PPV event against David Benavides. The exiled champion deserves a chance at redemption.
