The war of words between super middleweight champions David Benavidez and Caleb Plant keeps building toward a crescendo.

The 23-year-old WBC champion Benavidez (22-0, 19 KOs) opted for the written format during a reddit “Ask Me Anything” session with fans to take another shot at potential future foe in IBF titlist Plant (20-0, 12 KOs).

When Benavidez was asked who between the 168-pound champion trio of Plant, Billy Joe Saunders (WBO) and Callum Smith (WBA) would be the easiest fight, he tapped the Tennessean as the most straightforward task.

“Caleb Plant I think definitely,” said Benavidez. “There's not a lot overrated I can think of other than Plant … I feel like, if you just look at him, he's not the biggest puncher, I feel like he gasses out after six  rounds. Saunders has a lot of experience, Smith has a lot of experience, they look like they hit harder than Plant so the weakest champion out of the bunch is Caleb Plant.

“I would unify with Caleb Plant because I feel like that's the most personal fight there is at super middleweight, so I feel like that would be the best fight there is … Yeah, I believe he wants to fight me. I believe he thinks he can beat me, but in reality that's not gonna happen.”

Benavidez and Plant have been on a collision course to meet in the ring since they both became champions in 2019.

Plant picked up his title against Jose Uzcategui in January 2019 and Benavidez regained the WBC strap that he was once stripped of by handily beating Anthony Dirrell in September.

Benavidez joined the PBC on Fox broadcast booth in February for Plant’s homecoming fight and further added fuel to the fire after Plant’s one-sided beating of Vincent Feigenbutz by calling him out on TV.

Benavidez was slated for a homecoming fight in Phoenix against Roamer Alexis Angulo on April 18, but the fight was scrapped due to coronavirus.

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist and member of the Boxing Writers Assn. of America since 2011. He has written for the likes of the LA Times, Guardian, USA Today, Philadelphia Inquirer, Men’s Health and NFL.com and currently does TV commentary for combat sports programming that airs on Fox Sports and hosts his own radio show in Los Angeles. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan or via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com.