By: Sean Crose
So now it is official. Past rosters Caleb Plant and David Benavidez will kick off in Las Vegas this March 25 during the Showtime pay-per-view card main event. Aside from the fact that it would be a great fight to get Showtime to air on its flagship station instead of pay-per-view, it was a very interesting match. First of all, both fighters are quite skilled. Furthermore, the winner becomes a mandatory WBC for Canelo Alvarez’s super-middleweight crown. In the end, the fact that Plant and Benavidez didn’t seem to like each other much added to the tension of the proceedings.
Plant was the IBF super-middleweight boxer until he was knocked out by Alvarez in the penultimate round of their tough 2021 bout. It was the first fight the so-called “Sweet Hand” man had lost, but he came back strong by turning off the lights in an almost terrifying fashion to Anthony Dirrell in the ninth round of the match. played last October. Plant was desperate to get a second shot on Canelo and if he beats Benavidez he could have his chance. The question, of course, is can he beat Benavidez?
Like Plant, Benavidez is a former world player. Unlike Plant 22-1, Benavidez 26-0 has never tasted defeat. However, he left his fans with a lot of frustration by finishing not one but two world championships because of his apparent lack of discipline. In 2018, Benavidez lost his WBC title because he was found to have cocaine on him. Then, after regaining the title with a win over Dirrell the following year, Benavidez went on to lose the belt again, this time due to underweight in a 2020 matchup against Alexis Angulo.
Since that time, however, Benavidez has racked up three straight wins, all by margin. In his final game, which came this past May, Benavidez stopped David Lemieux for three innings, then claimed himself the WBC interim super average title in the process. Indeed, it can be said that Benavidez is defined by his strength, as he has only covered the distance three times in more than 25 battles. However, Plant showed just how powerful he can be when he blew up Dirrell last fall. The fact that Plant has a considerable boxing ability and it’s understandable why the boxing fan base is intrigued by this bout.
