Podcaster Ariel Helwani says Canelo Alvarez may attempt to reclaim the Mexican Independence Day date from the UFC on September 14th.
Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) won’t give up the Mexican Day date to the UFC as he did last year when he fought Jermell Charlo on September 30th. The date had been Canelo’s for years until the UFC started staging its events on that date to take advantage of the huge number of fans.
Arien feels that one way for Canelo to keep the September 14th date would be if he fought David Benavidez. However, that’s unlikely to happen. The two names that have been mentioned as potential opponents for Canelo is Edgar Berlanga and Chris Eubank Jr. Those guys aren’t popular enough for Canelo to retake his date from the UFC.
Helwani thinks Canelo should just give up the date and go a week later, but he might feel a sense of pride, not wanting to buckle to the UFC. That sport has become popular in the U.S. due to the action involved and the quick fights, which are often almost immediately due to the light gloves and the different ways to end a match.
“That would start it, and I guess he could do his fight at the T-Mobile because the Sphere isn’t related to the T-Mobile, but the T-Mobile is somewhat in bed with the UFC. So, I don’t know if they would want to do that,” said pod host Ariel Helwani to Fighthype when asked if Canelo Alvarez could take back his Mexican date from the UFC on September 14th if he were to face David Benavidez.
Canelo will not take a risky fight against Benavidez on September 14th unless he’s paid a lot of money. He’s talked of wanting $200 million, and that’s likely out of the price range for everybody, even the Saudis.
If Benavidez weren’t so huge for the 168-lb weight division, and didn’t resemble a cruiserweight after rehydrating, Canelo would probably fight him.
“Last year, when the UFC beat Canelo to the punch, remember Canelo had to go September 30th to fight [Jermell] Charlo. The UFC put a Fight Night at the T-Mobile, which I couldn’t believe they got there first,” said Helwani.
The negotiations for Canelo’s fight with Jermell may have taken longer than hoped. That could have been why he failed to get to the Mexican Independence Day nailed down.
“These fights take a long time to materialize. The UFC went in there and had a show ready to go, and it was a brilliant show,” said Helwani. “I think it’s a tough thing for Canelo, and it would be great if he could get the date back, but the UFC doesn’t want to give that up.”
Canelo will have to share the September 14th date with the UFC because it doesn’t look like that organization will back off. It only makes sense for Csanelo to stay on the date if he fights someone the fans want to see, and that’s David Benavidez.
It can’t be Terence Crawford because he’s fighting on August 3rd against Israil Madrimov, and he’ll likely be too banged up to return to the ring a month later on September 14th.
“They say this show [on September 14th] is going to be a love letter to Mexico, and Dana [White] has always thought highly of the Mexican fighting. He’s a longtime boxing fan as well. It’s tough,” said Helwani about the UFC event.
Helwani doesn’t say what he means by Dana’s event being a “love letter to Mexico.” Does that mean Dana White will stack the card with Mexican fighters or well-known UFC guys who will entertain Mexican fans?
“I heard some rumors that maybe Canelo will still try to go on September 14th, Canelo. Who knows? I would say go the following week. What a time that would be in Las Vegas if they were going head-to-head,” said Helwani.
I doubt Canelo will try and retake the September 14th date unless he’s fighting Benavidez or some other popular guy. He knows that he’ll hurt his PPV numbers if he faces Berlanga or Eubank Jr. on that date because those fights won’t sell even if they were on that date without competition from the UFC.
U.S. fans don’t want to see Canelof fight those guys. Berlanga is popular in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan areas of New York but nowhere else in the U.S.
“I don’t think he has to be,” said Helwani when asked if Benavidez must be Canelo’s opponent for him to take back his Mexican date on September 14th. “I was there when he fought Munguia. It was a nice atmosphere, but Crawford would be gigantic, too.”
