By Aragon Garcia: WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez wasn’t impressed with IBF 168-lb champion Caleb Plant’s successful title defense in stopping mandatory Vincent Feigenbutz in round 10 last Saturday night at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
The unbeaten 23-year-old Benavidez (22-0, 19 KOs) urged Plant (20-0, 12 KOs) to set-up unification fight against him next. As for Plant’s win over little known Feigenbutz (31-3, 28 KOs .
Benavidez would be a risky fight for Plant to take, because he doesn’t possess the same kind of power that he does. Plant is more of a finesse level fighter, who chips away at his opponents with lighter shots. When Plant does get knockouts, it’s from an accumulation of blows rather than from one big shot.
Benavidez calls Plant out
“It’s easy to look good against a bum. I wanna see you try and do that against me, sweetheart @CalebPlant.”
The 27-year-old Plant isn’t expected to face Benavidez next. He’s likely to take an easy voluntary defense against one of the contenders in the division, and who knows what he’ll do after that. Plant hasn’t faced anyone notable during his six-year professional career. Before last Saturday night, Plant’s biggest wins of his career came against these fighters:
- Rogelio ‘Porky’ Medina
- Jose Uzcategui
- Mike Lee
Those are a million light years away from where guys like Benavidez, Billy Joe Saunders, Canelo Alvarez and Callum Smith are at. Plant doesn’t seem to be all that interested in taking on Benavidez or any of the other champions at 168. Although Plant calls himself the #1 fighter at 168, he’s yet to prove it.
His wins over Feigenbutz, Lee, Uzcategui and Medina weren’t nearly big enough victories for Plant to say he’s #1. In other words, Plant still has a lot to prove before he claims the #1 position at super middleweight.
Benavidez says he’ll put Plant in the hospital
“benavidez300: Let’s get this done. Don’t want to keep the fans waiting . @calebplant ain’t gonna be talking stuff anymore when I put his a– in the hospital 😂😂🚩🚩🚩”
Like a lot of people, Benavidez has no idea how Feigenbutz earned the #1 spot with the Internationa Boxing Federation at 168. The German fighter has faced no name opposition for the last 4 years since being stopped in the 11th round by Giovanni De Carolis in 2016.
Benavidez to fight in April or May
“2o20 is going to be a great year for me, and 2021 is going to be an even better year for me,” said Benavidez to esnews. “I don’t even know who Feigenbutz is, and I don’t know how he became the number one contender for the title. He should have fought Caleb Truax. I don’t understand why he [Plant] isn’t fighting Caleb. I feel like that’s really disrespectful of Caleb Traux.
“And I don’t know who Feigenbutz is,” said Benavidez. “I think I’m going to fight in April or May. I’m in training camp right now. We’re just getting ready. I think the Yildirim guy injured his shoulder and got hurt. So we’re just waiting for the venue and the opponent, and we’re going to put on a spectacular show for whenever the date is,” said Benavidez.
It looks like Benavidez’s schedule is going to be open for April or May now that challenger Avni Yildirim is out with an injury. If Plant wants the unification fight with Benavidez, now would be the time to set it up given that his schedule is wide open.
Plant says he wants Benavidez fight
“I told you guys I was going to stop this fight before the 12th round,” said Plant after the fight. “Everybody knows I want that unification fight with David Benavidez. You know who the best 168-pounder is. If you want that you got to come see me. I’ve been wanting that fight. I’ve been asking for it and I’m tired of waiting.”
Plant had Feigenbutz hurt in round 2 after nailing him with some nice shots. As the fight progressed, Plant continued to hit Feigenbutz with combinations, and had his nose busted. In the last two rounds, the punch stats were ridiculously slanted in Plant’s favor.
By that point in the contest, the fight had turned into a full scale rout. In the 10th, referee Malik Waleed stepped in and halted the fight after Plant threw blizzard of shots against Feigenbutz, who was covering up in his shell waiting for the bombardment to stop.
Plant connected on 202 of 612 shots for a 33% connect rate, according to CompuBox. ” Feigenbutz landed just 47 of 265 punches for an 18% connect rate.
“I can’t disagree with the stoppage,” Feigenbutz said. “For the sport of boxing, safety is always first. The referee did a very good job. It was fair. To be a good winner you have to be a good loser.”