Alvarez began his latest reign as WBC super middleweight champion last Saturday after picking Mbilli apart for 12 rounds en route to a unanimous decision win at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 

But while the 36-year-old clearly outboxed his younger foe, the reigning WBO and WBA cruiserweight champion doesn’t believe Mbilli should’ve heard the final bell.

“He earns all of this money, he’s the greatest fighter in the world right? We expect him to go in there and knock this guy out,” Benavidez told Fight Hub TV. “We don’t expect him to just look for counter shots. Canelo is way better than Mbilli. You guys seen it. He had more tools. He just wasn’t pursuing the knockout like he should be. He’s too much of a great fighter to be cruising like that.”

Few fighters are more intrigued by Canelo’s potential. At one point, Benavidez (32-0, 26 KOs) was convinced that a fight between himself and Alvarez was bound to happen. However, the 29-year-old from Phoenix, Arizona, has given up on that dream bout.

Now, Benavidez is focused on his own legacy. After snatching two titles off Gilberto Ramirez last May, the “Mexican Monster” will get a chance to add to his belt collection when he takes WBC champion Michael Cieslak on December 5 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

Still, even with Benavidez looking to add more hardware, he’s curious about what Alvarez (64-3-2, 39 KOs) plans to do next. Although the super middleweight division is jam-packed with top contenders and worthy champions, Benavidez isn’t convinced that any of them have what it takes to beat the aging pound-for-pound star.

“I think so,” Benavidez said when asked if Alvarez is the best super middleweight in the world. “He looked really good but honestly, I don’t think there’s any fights big enough for him.”