Even before Canelo Alvarez came to the division there was the World Boxing Super Series at super middleweight from 2017 to 2018. If David was really focused on fighting the best and becoming the best in the division, he could have participated, but he didnโt. Callum Smith won the tournament and became the Ring champion in the process. So even without Canelo, David still never fought the top guy in the division. Smith was the guy before Canelo got there, and David didnโt fight him, but Canelo did and became the number one guy. Again, David left so many opportunities on the table at super middleweight.
I like David but there is a pattern in his career. He never fights the top guy in his division. At super middleweight no Canelo. At light heavyweight no Bivol or Beterbiev. At cruiserweight no Jai Opetaia and Jai has called him out and David is already dismissing that fight. The narrative is that nobody wants to fight him but Jai has shown willingness and you heard Davidโs response. At some point it canโt be a coincidence that in every division he competes in he never fights the top guy. When do we start assigning accountability to him for the way his career is going? It canโt always be the other guyโs fault.