Benavidez beats Ellis, calls out Canelo, Charlo & Plant

By Boxing News - 03/14/2021 - Comments

By Allan Fox: David Benavidez took a lot of punishment in the process of stopping fringe contender Ronald Ellis in the 11th round last Saturday night in his first fight back since being stripped of his WBC super middleweight title last August.

Fighting in the main event, Benavidez used his size, power, and high work rate to defeat Ellis (18-2-2, 12 KOs) in the main event on Showtime from the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.

The unbeaten Benavidez (24-0, 21 KOs) looked marked up by shots from the 31-year-old Ellis, who landed many punches but lacked the power to hurt him.

After the fight ended, Benavidez said he wants Canelo Alvarez, Jermall Charlo, or Caleb Plant next. That’s going to be a tall order for Benavidez to get any of those guys for his next fight in the summer, as he says he wants to fight in August.

It would be a good idea for the 24-year-old Benavidez to get more experience before facing the big dogs in the 168-lb division because those fighters are a lot more technical than he is and with better hand speed.

Image: Benavidez beats Ellis, calls out Canelo, Charlo & Plant

We saw what a lower-level contender in 31-year-old Ellis could do to Benavidez, anding a lot of shots and reddening up his face. On the positive side, you got to like Benavidez’s courage and self-belief.

He’s not afraid to fight the best, but he doesn’t look anywhere near ready for the big three: Canelo, Plant, or Charlo. At this point, the young gun Edgar Berlanga would be massive trouble for Benavidez with his punching power..

Benavidez isn’t ready to be taking on the likes of Canelo or Jermall Charlo at this point. Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) would be a lot of trouble as well for Benavidez.

“I want all the big guys,” Benavidez said after the fight. “Speaking for the fans too, they would love to see me against all the big guys. I love throwing punches.

“I love stopping people, so me versus any big name would be an amazing fight. I want [Jermall] Charlo, Canelo Alvarez, Caleb Plant, all of them.”

“I’m ready to fight in August,” said Benavidez. “I definitely feel like I beat Canelo Alvarez.”

Benavidez isn’t going to get the fight against Canelo because he’s got bigger fish to fry with his unification matches against Billy Joe Saunders in May and Plant in September.

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Benavidez should use the remainder of 2021 working on his defense and focusing on adding head & upper body movement to his game.

Right now, Benavidez is too stiff, robotic, and slow to beat the likes of Plant, Canelo, or Charlo. Saunders would likely outbox Benavidez, and Berlanga would stop.

Unfortunately, Benavidez hasn’t improved since his two fights against Ronald Gavril in 2017 and 2018. All the flaws Gavril exposed in Benavidez’s game are still present, making him a sitting duck for anything thrown at him.

Benavidez looks years away from being ready to compete with Canelo or Charlo, for that matter. It’s good that Benavidez is still young at 24 because he has time to work on his game and come back better in time.

Getting a new trainer should be a priority one for Benavidez because he’s not improving with his current coach. Benavidez needs a trainer like Eddy Reynoso to work with him to help him get to the next level, but that’s not going to happen.

Image: Benavidez beats Ellis, calls out Canelo, Charlo & Plant

Reynoso trains Canelo, so there’s no chance that he’ll agree to take on Benavidez. Also, there’s a sense of stubbornness in Benavidez that will prevent him from leaving his current trainer, Jose Benavidez, from finding someone that can help him.