Securing his legacy has always been more important to David Benavidez than preserving his unblemished record.

It’s the reason why he pushed for a head-on collision with Caleb Plant in lieu of a stay-busy fight versus shopworn Jose Uzcategui. It meant spending another two-to-three months longer than expected out of the ring but well worth the risk for what the unbeaten former two-time WBC super middleweight champion aims to accomplish.

“I’ve said for a while that if I have to carve out my own history, that’s even better for me, fighting all these f-----’ guys nobody wants to face,” Benavidez told BoxingScene.com. “The thing about guys like us at the top is, we don’t care about the possibility of losing. The sparring I’ve done against world champions, the best always comes out of me. I need that in the ring, in a fight that counts.

“I’ve been the one talking the most sh!t at 168. I just turned 26. How is the youngest guy the one talking the most sh!t? But I’m always gonna be vocal about wanting to fight the best. If the other guys aren’t willing to speak up and demand better or proven themselves, that’s their f------’ problem.”

The persistence offered by Benavidez (26-0, 23KOs) led to securing a long-desired grudge match versus Plant (22-1, 13KOs). The battle of former super middleweight titlists will headline a Showtime Pay-Per-View event this Saturday from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Benavidez’s interim WBC title is at stake in their scheduled twelve-round affair. Theoretically should leave the winner as the mandatory challenger to next face undisputed super middleweight king Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (58-2-2, 39KOs), who will next defend his crown versus interim WBO titleholder John Ryder (32-5, 18KOs) atop a May 6 DAZN PPV from his hometown of Guadalajara, Mexico.

The reality that Benavidez has embraced is that Alvarez will stall him out for as long as the Mexican superstar feels is necessary. It’s fine to the unbeaten 26-year-old, who at least gets one name from his preferred hit list in his quest to prove that he’s the best in the division—with or without Alvarez ever joining him in the ring.

“I stopped worrying about him a long time ago, to be honest,” insisted Benavidez. “The longer he takes to fight me, the more experience I can gain by beating everyone else. The only thing Canelo beats me at is experience. I’m bigger, I’m stronger and I feel I’m faster. The only f------- thing he has on me is experience.

“How do you get experience? You just go do it. You can’t buy experience, you just go get it. So if I have to fight Caleb Plant, David Morrell and all these guys, that’s fine. I’ve been calling out all these guys. I know I’m gonna beat them all. Whatever order I receive them doesn’t matter to me as long as I get them in the ring.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox