Benavidez says he beats Caleb Plant better than Canelo

By Jeff Sorby - 03/15/2023 - Comments

David Benavidez feels he will defeat Caleb Plant in a better fashion than Canelo Alvarez did when he stopped the former IBF super middleweight champion in the 11th round in their undisputed championship fight in November 2021.

(Photo credit: Lalo Hernandez/ SHOWTIME)

It’s going to be a lot more difficult for Benavidez to beat Plant than Canelo did because the Tennessee native is going to be on his bike, moving constantly and not presenting an easy target for his shots.

Plant has a large ring to move around in this ring, which was reportedly part of the contract for this fight. Benavidez doesn’t have the fastest feet, so he will have a lot tougher job than Canelo did when he fought Plant, who was willing to stand and trade at times.

WBC interim 168-lb champion Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs) and ‘Sweethands’ Plant (22-1, 13 KOs) will meet in 10 days from now on Showtime pay-per-view at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

It’s a fight that could lead to the winner facing undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo next year, although that’s not been confirmed by the Mexican superstar. Canelo has been quiet about that, which isn’t a good sign.

With the talk by promoter Eddie Hearn of Canelo defending his four 168-lb belts against Dmitry Bivol in their expected rematch in September, there’s an excellent chance that the titles will change hands in that fight.

Once Canelo no longer has the 168 belts, they’ll likely be fragmented because Bivol will surely vacate and return to the light heavyweight division to fight the winner of the WBC-ordered clash between champion Artur Beterbiev and Callum Smith.

Benavidez to work Plant’s body

“To be honest, I feel a lot of fans are mad about it, but it’s a tune-up fight for him. He even said it. He’s coming back from an injury,” said David Benavidez to Fighthype about Canelo Alvarez’s fight against John Ryder on May 6th.

“I think so because I’m bigger, I’m faster. I feel like I have the same power as Canelo. We kind of do a lot of the same things; body shots and punches in bunches. That’s going to be the key, body shots,” said Benavidez when asked if he beats Plant better than Canelo did in 2021.

“Every session, we started at 10. We went up to 15 and went back down to 12,” said Benavidez when asked if it were true that he had been sparring 15 rounds per day.

“We did 300 rounds of sparring. My last sparring was last Friday, with 12 rounds against three different guys. I felt amazing. I could have gone 15 or 20. I feel amazing right now,” Benavidez said.

Benavidez-Plant winner gets Canelo

“I would have been more upset if I didn’t have this fight with Caleb Plant, but since I have this fight with Caleb Plant and the winner gets Canelo, or so they say,” Benavidez continued.

“It’s going to be a good fight. I think what this fight brings to Canelo is now that he’s risen to stardom, he’s fighting in Mexico again. People have wanted to see him in Mexico, so he’s fighting in Mexico.

“I have nothing but respect for him, but I want to fight him. I went to compete with him, prove myself to everybody and be the best. To be the best, you have to beat the best.

“You’ve got the #2 guy against #3. I’m #2, and I’m fighting Caleb Plant; after that, hopefully, I get Canelo. We’ll see about that,”  said Benavidez when asked if there were any chance he would travel to Mexico to be ringside for Canelo’s fight against John Ryder.

“It’s kind of dangerous to pull up on Canelo in Mexico. We’ll see what we’re going to do, but it’s going to be a good fight. I’m excited,” said Benavidez.

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