David Benavidez fighting on March 12th

By Boxing News - 01/24/2021 - Comments

By Dan Ambrose: David Benavidez says he’s getting ready for his net fight on March 12th against an opponent still to be determined. The former WBC super-middleweight champion Benavidez (23-0, 20 KOs) says his team has several fighters in mind that they’re choosing from for the date.

He’s not sure where the venue will be, but it will be announced soon, along with his opponent for the March 12th date. Benavidez, 24, wants to become the IBF 168-lb mandatory so that he can force champion Caleb Plant or whoever is the champion to face him.

Benavidez says he wants to whip Plant’s backside because he hates the arrogant way he carries himself, and he wants to knock him off his high horse. He’s also tired of seeing Plant face weak opposition as the IBF super-middleweight champion. He’s been milking his IBF strap ever since he won it in 2018.

Besides wanting to fight Plant, Benavidez has his eyes on facing Canelo Alvarez and Edgar Berlanga. He knows that getting a fight against Canelo right now won’t be easy because everyone wants to fight him.

Canelo is mainly interested in capturing world titles at the moment, and Benavidez is now at the back of the line after losing his WBC strap on the scales last year.

Benavidez to announce next fight soon

“I think Caleb Plant will be the easier fight to get right now because Canelo is the cash cow, and everybody wants to go with Canelo,” said David Benavidez to SNOWQUEENLA.

“I’m going to fight; we’re going to announce it pretty soon,” said Benavidez. “I’m going to fight on March 12h.

Image: David Benavidez fighting on March 12th

“The venue and the date is still iffy right now, but we’ve been in camp right now for six weeks training at Big Bear.

“We still go another six weeks. Everything has been going amazing I’ve been working on the weight. Everything has been looking good and ‘I’m ready to perform. If it was Caleb, I would have said already,” said Benavidez.

“He’s a good fighter, and he’s doing what he has to do,” said Benavidez about Berlanga. “I want to give myself the best opposition.

“I feel like Edgar Berlanga has a lot of power, and he’s doing what he’s supposed to do. But I feel like there’s a lot of things I can expose in him.

“I feel like I can beat him and anybody else in the super-middleweight division,” said Benavidez.

It’ll be fun to see who Benavidez faces in his next fight, as he’s no longer the WBC 168lb Champion after weighing in heavy for his title defense against Alexis Roamer Angulo last August.

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Unless Benavidez’s management is throwing a lot of money at his potential opponents, he’s probably going to wind up facing a second-tier fighter that has no chance against him.

The way that Benavidez demolished his last opponent Angulo might scare away any decent top 15 contenders in facing him.

Plant an easy fight for Benavidez to make

“Seeing that we’re with PBC, I think that’s [Plant] the easier fight to get made right now,” said Benavidez. “With myself, I would want to get a fight against Caleb Plant right now just to beat his a** real quick and get his belt.

“We just never liked each other. I’ve been trying to get that fight for a long time, and we’ve been hyping it up for four years.

Image: David Benavidez fighting on March 12th

“I feel like the time to make the fight is right now. And I don’t like him, he doesn’t like me. I feel like the fight has to be made. We’re from the same promotional company.

“There should be no problem getting it made. But Caleb Plant, he wants to fight this weak opposition like Mike Lee, and now he’s fighting Caleb Truax.

“He didn’t even make it to his last fight. He passed out trying to make weight, and he didn’t even make it to his last fight. That’s the type of opponents he’s [Plant] going with.

“I feel like I’m the best. I don’t have my belt no more, but I still feel like I’m a top-five super middleweight in the division right now.

“So I feel like I’m the one that deserves that fight. I don’t like the way he is, and I don’t like the kind of person he is. He thinks he’s the s***.

“He thinks he’s the best, and he talks like he’s a killer. But he has 23 fights wight 10 knockouts, but he’s not a killer like that.

“The way he is, I just want to shut his mouth up. That’s all I want to do, and that’s what’s going to happen,” said Benavidez.

Well, Benavidez should look at Plant’s past behavior as a good predictor of the future. As the saying goes, ‘Actions speak louder than words,’ and Plant hasn’t shown a desire to get in the ring with Benavidez.

Plant has a good thing right now as the IBF champion, which Benavidez could potentially mess up by beating him. The guy’s Plant has been facing as the champion has been easy money fights for him. Is that an accident or by design?

For whatever reason, Plant hasn’t pulled the trigger on a fight with Benavidez, no matter how often he’s called him out. It’s safe to say that Benavidez won’t get the fight with Plant, and it would be best for him to move on.

Plant will sit and wait for Canelo

“He wants to fight with Canelo, but I think Canelo beats him a well,” said Benavidez about Plant. “I feel like it’s too much of a danger for him to fight me because he’s not going to beat me.

‘If I beat him, then he’s lost the opportunity for Canelo. That’s why he doesn’t want to make the fight happen. It’s plain and simple.

Image: David Benavidez fighting on March 12th

“I’m pretty sure he’s going to sit out this fight. As soon as he gets done fighting Truax, he’s going to sit out until Canelo gives him a fight because if he doesn’t fight Canelo, the next person he should fight is me.

“I want to put pressure on him, do whatever I got to do, and beat whoever I got to beat. But I’m going to be the IBF mandatory after this fight,” Benavidez said.

It’s very likely that after Plant successfully defends his IBF title against 37-year-old Caleb Truax on January 30th, he’s going to sit and wait for his unification fight against Canelo next September.

You can read that from a mile away. Plant isn’t going to want to risk that massive payday he’ll get fighting Canelo in September, as that’s retirement dough.

If Plant wanted to show he’s a warrior, he’d take on Benavidez, Edgar Berlanga, or Bektemir Melikuziev, but he’s not going to do that.

There’s too much of a probability of Plant losing if he faces those guys. In looking at how Jose Uzcategui was battering Plant in 2018, he can’t handle fighters with power that pressure nonstop.

Benavidez picks Canelo to beat Plant

“It’ll go Canelo’s way obviously,” said Benavidez about Canelo’s fight against Plant. “It’s not going to be easy. Caleb Plant is a good fighter. Canelo will probably have to cut the ring off and chase him more than he usually chases people.

“But ultimately, Canelo will win that fight. I don’t think Caleb Plant has the power to earn the respect of Canelo to stop his attack.

Image: David Benavidez fighting on March 12th

“He’s a good counter puncher and a fast fighter, but I feel like, at this level, you need a little more power. 22 fights with 11 knockouts.

“With somebody like me, you can pitty-pat me all day, and I’m going to walk through that. I’m going to make him feel my shots.

“Whatever round it takes me, I feel like he’s weak. He’s a good defensive fighter, but I feel like he’s weak overall. Canelo is a great fighter. That’s the complete opposite.

“He’s one of the best fighters. He’s a legend in my eyes. I give all respect to Canelo, he’s an amazing fighter. I never said he’s cherry-picking.

“The fighters he’s been fighting, these past fighters, giving them four weeks to get ready. That’s not a cherry-picker.

“I’m just saying that he should have an even playing field. Obviously, with me, I’m not going to be scared of anybody.

“I say a fighter is great doesn’t mean I’m scared of them. I’m here to fight great fighters. I want my legacy to be that I fought great fighters. Whoever it is, it doesn’t matter.

“My job is to train and get ready for anybody and get ready for anybody and beat whoever.

The only way Canelo doesn’t beat Plant is if he fails to throw enough punches and pressure him. To get the better of Plant, Canelo will need a good engine, and he’ll have to throw a lot of shots. I don’t know if Canelo can do that.

David not worried about Alvarez

“I’m going to win, but you guys are going to have to wait and see,” said Benavidez when asked how he’ll beat Canelo. “If it’s one or two years, you guys are going to have to wait and see.

“All I can say is what I’m going to do. You can say what Canelo is going to do.

Image: David Benavidez fighting on March 12th

“We won’t know until I get the fight. Canelo isn’t a regular guy. So you have to have an extremely great game plan. So we’ll see when the time comes,” said Benavidez.

Benavidez is being a tad bit optimistic in saying that he’ll be fighting Canelo in one or two years. Canelo hasn’t fought Benavidez all these years, and you got to figure that avoidance will continue.

You can argue that Canelo doesn’t fight guys that he’s not confident of beating. He didn’t fight Gennadiy Golovkin until he was 36, and when he did, he staged it in Las Vegas rather than a neutral location.

Canelo can’t wait Benavidez out until he’s old and harmless, but he can avoid him just the same.

Benavidez sees Canelo easily beating Yildirim

“Canelo is going to take care of that fight easily,” said Benavidez about Canelo’s fight against Avni Yildirim.

“The reason why I’m not speaking about Canelo or trying to pursue a fight against Canelo because he wants a title, and I lost my title off of weight. So I have to go to the back of the line.

Image: David Benavidez fighting on March 12th

“I can’t just be there, Canelo this, Canelo that. I’m going to wait my turn I’m going to earn my fight with him.

Whether it’s now, or two months or two years, a couple of years, it doesn’t matter. I’m going to get back in the line and fight whoever I have to fight.

If the opportunity presents itself, I’m going to take it. I don’t mind fighting anybody. I want to be the best in the super-middleweight, and if that’s going through everybody, that’s what I’m going to do.

I’m going to put on crowd-pleasing performances, and that’s how I’m going to build my fan base. It’s not only about Canelo now.

You got Edgar Berlanga, and There’s a lot of good fighters. I’m ready to take on everybody. I’m not scared of nobody.

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I just want to give the crowd and the fans the fights they want to see. I’m going to deliver. I always give knockouts, so that’s exactly what I’m going to keep doing,” said Benavidez.

Unbeaten Edgar Berlanga will be a problem for Benavidez due to his one-punch power. This guy has unbelievable strength, and if he catches Benavidez anywhere, he could hurt him.

It’s admirable that Benavidez is chomping at the bit to face Berlanga, but it’s also risky. Berlanga’s promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank isn’t likely going to let the youngster mix it up with Benavidez right now.

Even though both fighters are around the same age, Berlanga is just starting, and he’s not faced anyone with Benavidez’s talent yet. We might not see Arum give the green light for Berlanga to fight Benavidez for a few years.