By Sean Jones: David Benavidez says Jermall Charlo can forget about him agreeing to face him at a catchweight at super middleweight in 2021.
If Charlo (31-0, 22 KOs) is serious about wanting to face him, he’s going to need to come up all the way to 168 without a handicap.
Former WBC super middleweight champion Benavidez (23-0, 20 KOs) is tired of the obstacles that the 160-lb champion Charlo presents to him for a fight.
First, Benavidez needed to be vaccinated, then he had to be 25, and now it’s the need for a catchweight in between 160 and 168.
If Charlo, 30, wants to face Benavidez, he’ll need to come up to 168 for the match to happen.
What’s unclear is why the 6’0″ Charlo would need a catchweight, as he’s a huge middleweight, and he looks like a big 168-pounder after he rehydrates for his fight.
There’s only a slight difference in height between the 6′ 1 1/2″ Benavidez and Charlo, which shouldn’t be a problem.
Benavidez won’t agree to catchweight
“If he wants me to go get vaccinated, I’ll get vaccinated just for him,” said Benavidez to Premier Boxing Champions in response to being told that Jermall Charlo wants him to be vaccinated before he’ll fight him.
“I never said anything about Jermall Charlo. The only thing I said was I’d like to get a fight with him, and then he did an interview and said he’ll knock me out and break my neck.
“I’m not going to let nobody talk to me like that. So if you’re talking words like that, you’d better be ready to fight me. You better be ready to back that up in the ring.
“So I say my piece, and I go at him too. What now? I need a COVID vaccine. I need to be 25 and older. I need proof of a GED. Now he doesn’t even want to come up to 168.
“He wants to do a catchweight. I didn’t say I was going to do a catchweight. I didn’t say I was going to go down. You said you were going to come up to 168, so now what’s the problem?
“I feel like everybody is saying all this stuff about me because they think I’m not going to say nothing. I’m not nobody’s friend right here.
“I don’t want to be nobody’s friend. I’m here to knock people out; that’s my mission. If you don’t want to be knocked out, don’t mention my name,” Benavidez said.
It makes sense for Benavidez to stand his ground and not agree to a catchweight handicap for Jermall because he’s already struggling to make 168.
If Benavidez has to drain down to a 164-pound catchweight to accommodate Charlo, it might be too hard on his body.
Benavidez could probably make the weight, but it would be potentially harmful in the later rounds if he’s drained.
Plant failed to make a statement
“It was a good fight; it was a good performance,” Benavidez said about Caleb Plant about his win over Caleb Truax. “He landed everything that he wanted to land, but when you’re a champion like that, you want to make a statement, especially with a guy that is as old as that.
“What is he, 39-years-old? He was getting hit with every shot, and he had nothing to offer. He didn’t come back with anything.
“It was very disappointing if you’re a Caleb Plant fan. He goes out there and hits an old guy with everything he could possibly hit him with, and he still can’t stop him, especially when a guy that I stopped, stopped him.
“Anthony Dirrell stopped him [Truax] in the first round. For him to want to solidify himself as one of the best champions at 168, it really wasn’t an impressive performance in my eyes,” said Benavidez about Plant.
That’s another fight that seems unlikely for Benavidez to occur in 2021, as IBF super middleweight champion Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) is just waiting for a big payday match against Canelo Alvarez in September.
Plant is coming off of a 12 round unanimous decision over Caleb Truax on January 30th.
In the post-fight interview, the way that Plant seemingly went out of his way to tell the viewers that he’d injured his left hand during the Truax fight gave the impression that he won’t be taking any interim matches.
Also, Plant said that Benavidez had messed up by failing to make weight for his fight with Roamer Alexis Angulo last year, and he’s not going to give him an opportunity.
Benavidez: Plant will wait for Canelo until September
“He [Plant] did what he had to do, but I feel like he’s too weak for that. He’s a weak champion basically,” said Benavidez.
“I don’t think so. I feel like he’s going to sit out until he gets that fight,” said Benavidez when asked if Plant will take another fight before facing Canelo in September.
“Once Canelo beats him, I’m still next to get in there with Caleb Plant. I still want to beat his a**. That doesn’t change. Even with a loss or without a loss, I’m still going to beat his a**.
Plant will sit and wait for his unification clash against WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez for September and not risk his title against Benavidez anyone.