"I’ve done it all" - Canelo Alvarez likens himself to Floyd Mayweather and other legends to counter claims of ducking David Benavidez

Canelo Alvarez has responded to criticism for not fighting the interim WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez.

The attempts to put together the highly anticipated Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez vs. David Benavidez fight ultimately proved unsuccessful. Amid the uncertainty, Canelo announced that he would be fighting a different opponent, Jaime Munguia, at the Cinco de Mayo event on May 4.

A large section of the boxing community, including notable boxers like Andre Ward, Mike Tyson and Ryan Garcia, among others, have criticized Canelo's decision to move on from the Benavidez fight.

Canelo recently addressed the criticism and highlighted that he has fought some of the best boxers of his time, including the likes of Floyd Mayweather and Gennady Golovkin. The 33-year-old implied that his doubters would not stop criticizing him even if he defeated Benavidez.

Boxing journalist Michael Benson posted Canelo's statement on his X (formerly Twitter) account. However, the original source of information is not listed. According to Benson, Alvarez said:

“Yeah it always happens - Erislandy Lara, Austin Trout, Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, Gennady Golovkin, Daniel Jacobs, Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders. At the end of the day, I beat practically all of them. If I beat Benavidez, they’re gonna say, ‘Oh, why don’t you face this other guy?’ Look at my history, I’ve done everything in boxing. I’ve done it all.”

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Jim Lampley questions if Canelo Alvarez should be able to choose his opponents at this stage of his career

American sports commentator Jim Lampley discussed Canelo Alvarez's decision to not face David Benavidez during a recent interview on Fight Hub TV.

Lampley argued that despite having fought some of the most elite boxers of his generation, Canelo might never succeed in convincing fans of his achievements.

Lampley then questioned if Canelo should be able to fight the opponents of his choice, given his accomplishments in the sport of boxing. Lampley said:

“At this point does he really have to keep proving himself over and over and over by taking the biggest fight available, or should they pay him just to fight whoever he wants to fight because he’s Canelo Alvarez? It’s not out of the question that this debate goes on in the back of his mind, ‘Haven’t I done enough? Shouldn’t I get the right to fight who I want to fight?’"

Catch Jim Lampley's comments below (1:46):