By Craig Page: Caleb Plant needs to decide whether he’s ready to earn a rematch with Canelo Alvarez by taking on arguably the most dangerous fighter in the super middleweight division in David Benavidez.
Although Plant (22-1, 13 KOs) took care of business by knocking out Anthony Dirrell in the ninth round on October 15th, there’s a huge difference between the aging 37-year-old vet and the unbeaten WBC interim 168-lb champion Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs).
Plant had said he wanted to fight David Benavidez or Jermall Charlo to earn the rematch with Canelo, but he’s not said anything about fighting either since beating Dirrell.
If Plant doesn’t fight a name opponent like Benavidez or Charlo, he will have a tough road attempting to lure Canelo into giving him another well-paying rematch. Canelo dominated Plant last November, stopping him in the eleventh round.
While Plant did look good against the shot 37-year-old Dirrell, the boxing public isn’t pushing for a Canelo-Plant rematch. Canelo and his trainer/manager Eddy Reynoso know that Dirrell is over-the-hill, and they’re likely not impressed enough to want to give Plant a rematch based on this nothing win.
Plant might have done some thinking and realized that he might not ever get another shot at a Canelo payday if he tangles with Benavidez or Charlo.
So instead of risking a possible knockout and losing out on another Canelo big-money fight, Plant will likely be matched against one of the contenders in the 168-lb division that won’t give present him with any risk.
“Everybody wants to see Benavidez and Canelo or Benavidez and Beterbiev,” said Max Kellerman on Max on Boxing. “I want to see Benavidez against another legit top fighter to see how good he is.
Caleb Plant was on the undercard of Deontay Wilder vs. Robert Helenius. He knocked out Anthony Dirrell, whose best days are behind him, in the ninth round. What’s next for Caleb Plant?”
“That was a terrific knockout, one of the best of the year,” said Mike Coppinger. “Caleb Plant, again, I think the fight to make is Benavidez. These guys, actually, genuinely hate each other, Benavidez & Plant.
“They have a long personal history there. It makes too much sense. Of course, Benavidez-Canelo would be great, but I doubt we’re going to see that soon. Canelo is going to have wrist surgery, and I doubt he’s fighting a guy like Benavidez in his first fight after that surgery.
“Caleb Plant makes sense, and if Plant isn’t going to fight Benavidez, I want to see Plant against Jermall Charlo.”
Plant is very good. It’s no knock against Plant. He’s an excellent fighter; he has fast twitch [fibers], he has power, as we just saw, and he can box,” said Kellerman.
“But he was so comprehensively beaten by Canelo, and we saw what happened when Canelo fought Bivol, and they’re around the same size, even though Bivol is one division above Plant, it kind of taps the boxing fan’s imagination about what Plant can become.
“Yeah, Plant would make a terrific fight with Benavidez, but I would rather see Benavidez in with someone like Beterbiev, where you would see an explosive fight and find out if he can compete with the elite of the elite.
“Caleb Plant, what we’ve seen so far, is a one-half step below that,” said Kellerman.
“David Benavidez will fight Jose Uzcategui in January. These two were supposed to fight in January 2021, but Uzcategui tested for PEDs,” said Kellerman.
“Uzcategui tested positive for EPO, which is the most powerful PED you can use because it gives you more stamina and more endurance in a sport where you’re punching a guy in the head,” said Mike Coppinger.
“Now Benavidez, after defeating David Lemieux and Tyrone Davis, he’s going to revisit that fight. It’s going to happen in January.
“No date yet, Benavidez-Uzcategui, and I’m hoping that Benavidez, as expected, we’ll see him against Caleb Plant or Jermall Charlo. Those are both massive fights, and both are with PBC,” said Coppinger.