Paulie Malignaggi: "Canelo gets hammered against Benavidez"

 Former boxer Paulie Malignaggi made a bold prediction about a potential matchup between Canelo Alvarez and David Benavidez. Malignaggi stated,

“It’s not that important for me to watch Canelo get beaten like a rag doll. I think he gets hammered.”

This statement is significant, considering Alvarez's impressive record of never being knocked down in his 64 fights and only wobbling once. However, Malignaggi's prediction also reflects the potential of David Benavidez, the former super-middleweight champion who is eager to face Alvarez.

After Benavidez's impressive victory over Demetrius Andrade late last year, many expected Alvarez to accept a match against him. Instead, Alvarez chose to fight Jaime Munguia on May 4, in his first all-Mexico Cinco de Mayo weekend clash since 2017. Benavidez, on the other hand, is set to fight Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June 15.

Responding to Malignaggi's prediction, Alvarez stated at a news conference that he would require a purse of $150 million to $200 million to fight Benavidez. Many interpreted this as a strategic move to secure funding from Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh.

Malignaggi criticized Alvarez's stance, calling it an "outright duck." He believes Benavidez would defeat Alvarez easily, suggesting that Alvarez might as well accept the fight for $150 million.

However, not everyone agrees with Malignaggi's assessment. Chris Algieri, another former boxer, argued that Alvarez has an obligation to face the next deserving challenger. Algieri emphasized the importance of honoring boxing tradition and passing the torch to the next generation of fighters.

Algieri believes Benavidez has the potential to be the next face of boxing and that a fight between him and Alvarez is crucial for the sport. He emphasized the need for clear transition points in boxing and called for the fight to happen.

The debate over a potential Alvarez-Benavidez fight continues, with fans and experts alike eager to see if Malignaggi's prediction will come true or if Alvarez will maintain his dominance in the ring.