By Dan Ambrose: David Benavidez says Caleb Plant showed weakness when he met him at their kickoff press conference, allowing him to walk all over him.
Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs) doesn’t respect the former IBF super middleweight champion Plant (22-1, 13 KOs), and he’s planning to knock him out in their fight next month on March 25th on Showtime PPV at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
According to the 26-year-old Benavidez, he’s waited five years to get Plant in the ring, and the only reason he finally agreed to meet him is that he couldn’t get the fight he wanted against Jermall Charlo.
Since Plant is desperate to get a rematch against Canelo Alvarez, he had no other option but to fight Benavidez to earn that fight.
It’s a move that shows one how much ‘Sweethands’ Plant wants/needs that second payday against Canelo after getting knocked out in the eleventh round by him in their match in November 2021.
Benavidez predicting knockout of Plant
“If you’re going to fight somebody you dislike, you at least have got to stand up for yourself. He just let me walk all over him,” said David Benavidez to Fighthype about Caleb Plant.
“People want to say that he’s cool, calm, and collected. It’s funny that he wasn’t acting like that against Canelo until Canelo smacked the f**k out of him, and now his energy changed completely.
“He knows he can’t play with me like that because I would have smacked the f**k out of him right there in the press conference. We have a great game plan. We’re going to follow the game plan and knock Caleb Plant out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MPMMrY1r-E
“I don’t think he’s the best defensive fighter. He gets hit a lot. Just because he has the shoulder roll doesn’t mean he has a good defense. When he fought Uzcategui, he did dominate early in the fight, but towards the end of the fight is when he gasses out. It’s become a pattern with him,” said Benavidez.
Plant fades late in fights
“He does good, and then he gasses out towards the end of his fights. He won the fight against Uzcategui, but Uzcategui hit him with some good shots toward the end and split his eye open,” Benavidez said. “He got the victory that night, but when he fought Canelo, he started out fast, too, and then gassed out towards the end.
“There’s definitely a pattern there, and we’re ready to expose his weaknesses and take advantage of his strengths too. I’ve been very well prepared for this fight. I’ve been working extremely hard. I’m just ready.
“This is going to be a fantastic fight not just for me but for the fans. The fans are going to see an amazing show. It’s going to be a great night of boxing on March 25th.
“He [Plant] was trying to get a fight against [Jermall] Charlo, but Charlo has been nowhere to be found. He hasn’t fought in like 600 days. The way this fight happened, Al Haymon called me because I already had a fight scheduled in January against Uzcategui.
“Al told me, ‘Do you want to take this fight and then take the fight against Caleb after, or do you just want to jump into the fight with Caleb Plant?’ I said, ‘S**t, give me the fight with Caleb Plant. That’s the fight I’ve been wanting.’
“He [Plant] couldn’t refuse the offer. He wants to get back in with Canelo. So the only fight that makes sense is me vs. him. I didn’t want to let my fans down, either. I’m grateful he took the fight. He could have said no.
“I want to make a statement, and I’m going to follow the game plan. That’s how you get knockouts. You do the job right, and the knockout comes on its own. That’s why I’m so confident in this fight. I’m 26 now, and I’m already getting my man strength. I feel physically the best I’ve ever felt, and I want this. More than anything, I want this.
Benavidez with good game plan
“I want to knock him out, and I know I can because I’ve hurt everyone I’ve been in the ring with,” said Benavidez. “I’ve literally hurt everyone I’ve been in the ring with. I know I have the power to do it. It’s just that we’ve got to set a good game plan up and effectively do the game plan and get the victory.
“The whole time, I’ve been thinking about Caleb Plant. Sometimes you can let emotions motivate you to the point where you get everything done. I’m 100% focused on Caleb Plant. Until I go in and do what I got to do, I’m not going to be satisfied with myself.
“That’s why I want to get the knockout so bad. I want to shut Caleb Plant up, and then I want to shut everybody else up after that too.
“I already know I have power, so we’re adding a little bit more power. “We’re not doing too much weights. When you do weights, you get a little stiff and slow. You add a little bit of power, but you lose speed.
“On March 25th, you guys are in for a treat. Not only have I been working my a** off, but I’ve been training since October. I’ve been working really hard. I’m definitely excited. It’s going to be a tough fight, but I want the competition. I love it. I don’t shy away from nobody, so it’s going to be a great night for us.
“If he really wanted to do something about it and he wanted to talk all that s**t, he should have done something at the press conference. I pulled upon him, and he didn’t want to do s**t. His cameraman got rowdy too, and one of my homies slapped the s**t out of him.
“So his whole team can get it. If they really want to do something about it, we’re there to handle it. I don’t listen to none of that stuff. That’s one thing that I do good. I drown out all the background noise. I’m strictly working right now. I don’t care what anybody says about me.
“People have been talking s**t for a long time, but you got to know how to block that out. That’s exactly what we’re doing,” said Benavidez.
David disliked Caleb from the start
“When I met him, I didn’t like him,” said Benavidez about Plant. “He’s one of those cocky guys. He thinks he’s better than everybody. Us being in the same weight class and potentially fighting back then, and everybody trying to rate us. That’s what kind of started the rivalry.
“I don’t like those types of persons. They have so much to say online and in interviews, but when you see them in person, they have their hands in their pockets and don’t want to say nothing.
“I hate people like that. If you’re going to talk s**t, have the balls to say it to their face, not just on camera when I’m not around. That’s the reason I don’t like him. It’s nothing more than that. I really just don’t like the guy.
“It was a good performance,” said Benavidez about Plant’s recent match against Anthony Dirrell last October. “At the beginning of the fight, he was getting hit a lot. Anthony Dirrrell, he’s not a strong puncher at all. I’ve been in the ring with him. He doesn’t have no pop at all.
“I know that if I catch Plant with the punches that Dirrell was catching him with, it’s good night because I’m going to put him to sleep,” said Benavidez.