By Jim Calfa: David Benavidez believes Caleb Plant chose not to fight him because he’s “scared” of the beating that he’d inflict on him if he took that bout.
Instead of fighting the #1 WBC 168-lb contender Benavidez, Plant is said to be fighting Anthony Dirrell next.
Dirrell, 37, is a fighter that Benavidez stopped in nine rounds in 2019. Taking on the former two-time WBC 168-lb champion Dirrell will give fans a chance to compare Plant’s performance to that of Benavidez.
It’s going to be difficult for Plant to do a better job against Dirrell than Benavidez, however, because he’s not a puncher, and he has poor stamina.
The former IBF super middleweight champion Plant (21-1, 12 KOs) recently expressed interest in putting together a fight with Benavidez.
However, the fight never got to the negotiation stage before Plant chose not to pursue the contest, blaming it Benavidez already being signed to fight David Lemieux on May 21.
Benavidez says Plant lost his nerve
“This fat boy beats his a**. That’s the thing about Caleb Plant. He runs his goddamn mouth all damn day, and then he does little effort to make these fights happen,” said David Benavidez to Fight Stars TV.
“The WBC would have loved to have made the WBC interim title vs. me and Caleb Plant. Why is that fight not made? It’s not made because Caleb Plant didn’t want to fight.
“You think the WBC wouldn’t have loved to have that fight, Caleb Plant vs. David Benavidez for the WBC interim title? That would have been a great situation for the WBC. Now he’s going out there now. I heard he’s now in talks with Anthony Dirrell.
“So, he talks all that s*** for no reason because he’s scared. Deep down inside, I know he’s scared.
“There would have been a verbal agreement until after I have my fight signed already with David Lemieux. If he [Plant] is with it and I’m with it, we could have a verbal agreement to make the fight happen after our fights.
“That’s no problem. We could have made the fight happen in September or December,” Benavidez said about what he and Plant could have done. “If he doesn’t want to fight and he’s saying all this s***, and that’s basically him saying that he doesn’t want to fight.
“We go through the same people, Luis Decubas. He handles me and he handles Caleb Plant. So it’s not that hard to make that fight happen. It’s not only with him.
“It’s with Jermall Charlo, and even with Edgar Berlanga. We contact them personally to make the fights happen,” Benavidez said.
As long as Benavidez isn’t pinning his hopes on the Plant fight happening later this year, he should be fine if it doesn’t take place.
Benavidez should know that the chances of him getting a fight with Plant are slim because he very likely will come up with another reason why he won’t fight him next.
Plant vs. Dirrell will be a good fight
“I’m at a point in my career, it’s my ninth year professional, I just want to get the biggest fights out there,” said Benavidez. “I’ve been champion two times already and I’m fighting for another belt.
“So, I feel like I’ve earned the right to fight all these other fighters, all these big-name fighters. I am the best. Even when it comes to the money, I’m willing to take money cut too just to get them in there because I know I will shine when the day comes.
“I think there’s a big possibility it can happen,” said Benavidez when asked if he still believes a fight with Plant can happen after their next matches. “I have to see how they look with Anthony Dirrell,” said Benavidez.
Plant could lose to Dirrell because that guy can still punch, and he has a better engine. In Plant’s last fight against Canelo Alvarez, he gassed out in the later rounds and was stopped in the 11th last November.
“If I don’t get that fight, the other fight I want is Boo Boo Andrade. I think that’s a big fight too because Andrade is fighting for an interim WBO title. So if we can put those two titles together, it’ll put more pressure on Canelo Alvarez. I feel like this is going to be a good year for us.
“I feel like Anthony Dirrell is a sneaky fighter, and Caleb Plant doesn’t have the power to knock him out. The fighters that can dominate Anthony Dirrell are the ones that have power.
“Caleb Plant is a good boxer, but he only has 12 knockouts in 22 fights, so his power is not really there. I feel like it’ll be a good fight.
“Yeah, definitely, I’ll put his a** in the hospital,” said Benavidez when asked if he’ll knockout
