Canelo Alvarez responds to 'hater' fan who held sign taunting champion for third time

01/05/2024 14:49

Canelo Alvarez’s number one hater is back in action, and has provoked a response from the champion.

Alvarez is back in action on the latest ‘Cinco De Mayo’ weekend as he touches gloves with fellow countryman Jaime Munguia in a defence of his undisputed 168lb titles.

At two of his previous fights, the Mexican champion has been taunted by a fan, who has held up a sign at his ‘grand arrivals’ urging him to stop ‘ducking’ David Benavidez.

The fan was once again present at Alvarez’s arrival in Las Vegas, holding a sign which suggested he was making excuses by demanding $200 million to face his rival.

When on stage addressing the crowd, he hit back at the fan and said: “I think they have to enjoy this fight we have in front of us, which is the most important thing.

“We have to give Jaime Munguia the respect he deserves. We have to enjoy this.

“The fan standing there with the sign brings it inside since Gennady Golovkin, so they will never take it away.”

It is now the third time that the fan has been present at the traditional event, having first turned up to his trilogy fight with Golovkin in September 2022.

On that occasion, he arrived with a team Golovkin banner and a signed glove from Canelo’s Kazakh rival.

In his second attempt to antagonise the pound-for-pound star, he produced his first banner for the contest with Jermell Charlo in October 2023, which read: ‘Barbie v Monster’ comparing him to Benavidez.

The build-up now will likely continue to be dominated by talk of a challenge from Benavidez, which seems highly unlikely.

Reports indicated that Alvarez had been offered a guaranteed purse of $55 million for the fight, which his team swiftly denied.

The champion then went on to downplay the fight happening, insisting he would need around $200 million to consider touching gloves with Benavidez.

The WBC did declare that Benavidez will be made mandatory challenger to ‘Canelo’ within the next year, a move which could force negotiations to begin.

However, Benavidez elected to move up to 175lb to face Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June 15, after missing out again on his shot.

It is unclear what lays in waiting for the Mexican next, but there is a raft of talented 168lbs fighters forming an orderly queue.