LAS VEGAS – Caleb Plant isn’t impressed with David Benavidez’s resume.
From Plant’s perspective, he is without a doubt the most talented, troublesome opponent the unbeaten Benavidez has agreed to fight since Benavidez turned pro as a 16-year-old in 2013. Based on how they fared against a common opponent, Anthony Dirrell, Plant predicted that Benavidez will have to perform at a much higher level Saturday night at MGM Grand Garden Arena than he did when Benavidez eventually stopped Dirrell in the ninth round of their September 2019 bout at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Plant spectacularly knocked Dirrell cold in the ninth round of their October 15 fight at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The former IBF super middleweight champion was already ahead by wide distances on all three scorecards – 80-72, 79-73 and 79-73 – when his devastating left hook decimated Dirrell.
Benavidez’s stoppage of Dirrell was a lot less dramatic. Dirrell bled profusely from a cut above his right eye, but he was still on his feet when referee Thomas Taylor stepped between them.
“You seen the way that he fought Dirrell, how the fight played out with Dirrell,” Plant told BoxingScene.com. “You know, a lot of those rounds either he won or it was really close. And then [with me], you know, from the first bell Dirrell didn’t win 10 seconds in a row of that fight.
“If he landed a shot here and there, it’s not like he went on to take control of those moments for any longer than 10 seconds moving forward. And then obviously knocking him out the way that I did, I mean, this is a big step up. If that’s his toughest opponent and that’s how he handled him, you know, he’s gonna have to do better than that.”
Benavidez led Dirrell comfortably on each scorecard entering the ninth round as well (79-73, 78-74, 78-74). The WBC interim 168-pound champ admits, though, that Plant represents a tougher test than he has encountered thus far.
“Without a doubt, he’s [my] best opponent,” Benavidez told BoxingScene.com. “You know, he was a world champion. He’s very accomplished. I give him that, he is the best opponent I will have faced.”
Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs) won back the WBC super middleweight title from Dirrell (34-3-2, 25 KOs). David Lemieux (43-5, 36 KOs), who once held the IBF middleweight title, is the only other former champion that the Phoenix native has beaten.
Plant (22-1, 13 KOs) has defeated Dirrell and former IBF super middleweight champions Jose Uzcategui (32-5, 27 KOs) and Caleb Truax (31-5-2, 19 KOs, 1 NC). The Ashland City, Tennessee native also lost by 11th-round technical knockout to four-division and current undisputed 168-pound champion Canelo Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs) in their super middleweight title unification fight 16 months ago.
Benavidez, 26, and Plant, 30, will headline a four-fight Showtime Pay-Per-View telecast Saturday night (9 p.m. ET; $74.99). Most sportsbooks have installed Benavidez as a 3-1 favorite to win their grudge match.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
