Robert Garcia’s Warning: David Benavidez And Christian Mbilli Pose Too Great A Risk For Terence Crawford

Coach Robert Garcia says Terence Crawford’s trainer, Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre, made the right decision by turning down a fight with David Benavidez for his fighter. He states that it would be a bad way for Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs) to end his career.

Robert recommends that Crawford fight a rematch with Canelo Alvarez if it’s offered to him or move down to 160 to go after the world titles in that division. He’s not keen on Crawford defending his undisputed supermiddleweight title against contenders.

The Danger of Facing Christian Mbilli

Garcia also says a fight with Christian Mbilli wouldn’t be a good fight for Crawford to take because he’s “dangerous” and has a high output. He suggests not to take the fight with Mbilli.

Basically, he’s making it clear that what Terence accomplished last Saturday in beating the so-called best fighter in the 168-lb division, Canelo Alvarez, wasn’t real. He’s just a guy who rounded up most of his titles years ago against fighters that aren’t as talented as the super middleweight contenders are ranked at or near the top of the division.

How Canelo won his 168-lb titles:

Callum Smith: WBA and vacant WBC in December 2020
Billy Joe Saunders: WBO in May 2021
Caleb Plant: IBF to become undisputed 168-lb champion in November 2021
William Scull: Recaptured IBF belt

Garcia Backs Avoiding David Benavidez

“I wouldn’t do that either. There’s no way,” said trainer Robert Garcia to Fight Hub TV, reacting to Terence Crawford’s coach Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre turning down a fight with David Benavidez on his behalf. “Crawford just got one of the biggest wins in history. He doesn’t need to go out there and risk. This is too big, too strong.”

It’s not just that Benavidez is too big. It’s his high work rate, hand speed, and toughness. He could be shorter than Crawford, and he’d still be too much for him in my view. He’s fearless, youg, and would keep attacking Crawford, forcing him to run or fight. He’s not capable at 38 to match Benavidez’s work rate. So, he’d be forced to run, and it wouldn’t be fun to watch for fans.

“We don’t want to see a champion do so much and then end his career with bad fight that he shouldn’t take. Not a good one for Terence. Mbilli is a dangerous fight for Crawford. He throws a lot of punches,” said Garcia.

Mbilli’s High Work Rate Poses Threat

Mbilli would be a terrible fight for Crawford because he would walk through his shots to bury him with combinations. Lester Martinez took a lot of punishment in his 12-round draw against Mbilli last Saturday night, and I believe he would have lost if he hadn’t shoved him all night. Without that move, which was essentially illegal due to how frequently he did it, he would have been overwhelmed with punches from Mbilli.

Crawford would wind up having to move all night, and you can only imagine the amount of booing from the fans.

A List of Fighters to Avoid

Christian Mbill
Osleys Iglesias
Hamzah Sheeraz
Jose Armando Resendiz
Caleb Plant
Diego Pachco