David Benavidez: “Caleb Plant was about to cry”

By Boxing News - 02/03/2023 - Comments

By Allan Fox: David Benavidez says Caleb Plant was “glassy-eyed” and about to cry during Thursday’s kickoff press conference for their fight next month on March 25th Showtime PPV at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Benavidez’s threats and the way that he attempted to initiate a fight with Plant (22-1, 13 KOs) during the press conference appeared to frighten him. Plant looked visibly scared when Benavidez got up and walked over to him like he was going to throw down.

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Plant is scared

“He’s never been in the ring with me. I’m bigger, stronger. We’ve both got a lot of speed, but I’ve got speed too. I’ve got punches in bunches, body shots. I got everything,” said David Benavidez to Fight Hub TV.

“He’s scared. His energy since I came out of the hotel, he’s scared. I know when somebody is scared. I’ve been doing this for a long enough time,” said Benavidez about Plant.

“I knock out people, and I beat the s**t out of people. So, I know when someone is scared. All that fake s**t he wants to act like he’s tough, he’s stone cold. I know a scared person when I see one. I do my job right, and the knockout comes by itself.

“There are emotions, but I’m smart not to let emotions get in the way of me doing my job. I know a scared person when I see one. I’ve been beating the s**t out of people my whole life. So he can act like he’s going in there and isn’t scared of me, but I know he’s scared of me.

“He’s going to be surprised when I knock him the f**k out. That’s what he’s going to be surprised of. David Benavidez knocks out Caleb Plant in round six,”  said Benavidez when asked what would be the headlines on Sunday morning, the day after their fight on March 25th.

Benavidez moving up to 175 soon

“I feel like I have four fights left at super middleweight,” said Benavidez. “The only reason I stayed along so long was that I wanted to make this fight happen for sure. Since I’m already there, I might as well try and make these other big fights happen.

“We’ve got Canelo, we’ve got Morrell, Charlo, and then maybe after that, Andrade, ‘Boo Boo’ Andrade. Then after that, I’m going up to 175, but if I can’t get any of those fights made, then I’m going up to 175.

“I thought it was a really good performance, but he does leave himself open a lot,” said Benavidez when asked about his view of IBF, WBC & WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev’s win over Anthony Yarde last Saturday night.

“I feel like I can have a lot of success with him, and I definitely would like to fight him in the future. He leaves his body open a lot. You can really hit him with a lot of combinations. It would be a really tough task. I would want to go up to 175 first and see how it is before I go to the main guy.

“I think at 175; I’m definitely going to be stronger and faster. Until they fight, you can’t really say,” said Benavidez about Beterbiev fighting Dmitry Bivol. “They’re both champions.  I think Bivol beats Beterbiev, but I can’t say until it happens.

“Bivol, the way he fights and how disciplined he is, I think he has what it takes to beat Beterbiev. I’ve sparred Bivol a lot, and I know what happened during those sparring sessions. So yeah, I know I can beat him. I can knock him out.

David not bothered by Plant trash talk

“It doesn’t irritate me at all. It happened. I’m not going to lie and say it didn’t happen,” Benavidez said when asked if it irritates him that Plant was bringing up his past positive test for cocaine.

“That happened years and years ago. I’m comfortable with people trying to throw that in my face, making it seem like that’s what I still am. I’m not. If that’s what you think, I’m a flat-footed fighter; I’m an undisciplined fighter; I’m a drug attic.

“You can think whatever you want. When I get your a** in the ring, no matter who it is, you’re not going to be thinking that after the fight. I can’t really say. I’ve been trying to predict, but nothing happens the way you think is going to happen,” said Benavidez about what comes after Plant.

“I’m just focused on this fight right now. I’m going to give 100% of myself, and it’s going to be the best version of myself. After the fight, we can think about that.  I don’t know where the boat is going to go.

“When I see it in my head, I see it a couple of ways. I see body shots, combinations, and I see him giving up himself,” said Benavidez when asked how he sees himself knocking out Plant.

“There’s a lot of possibilities about how I can do it. We’re going to continue to work hard, but the thing that’s guaranteed is that I’m going to knock him out. I’m only going to start talking if he starts talking,” Benavidez said.

Intimidation not necessary

“If he doesn’t, I don’t need to talk to somebody to break their will,” Benavidez continued. “I’ll just hit them in the body, beat them up, and that’ll be enough. That was his cry for help. ‘Canelo, please don’t knock me out. He got knocked out anyways, so the s**t doesn’t even matter,” said Benavidez about the dialogue Plant had during the ninth round of his fight with Canelo Alvarez in 2021.

“When I was young, I didn’t have an amateur career. My amateur career was sparring top champions. I started with Kelly Pavlik, Golovkin, Zurdo Ramirez. I spent four years going back to Big Bear sparring with Golovkin.

“So I feel that’s what made me what I am now because the sparring sessions with him weren’t sparring sessions. It was let’s see who gets knocked out. We’re going at it all the time. Imagine sparring Golovkin at 15 all the way to 19. You’re going to have a lot of confidence in yourself.

“It’s just that and the way I fight. I know my spirit. There’s no taking it down. I feel like if somebody hits me once, I’ve got to come back with three shots. March 25th has taken a long time, but I’m finally here, and I’m definitely not going to disappoint you guys. This is going to be one of the fights of the year and the knockout of the year,” said Benavidez.

“This training camp has brought the best out of me. We’ve still got seven weeks. He was f***king scared. You seen his eyes. His eyes were all glassy. He looks like he was about to cry. When his trainer came up and talked,  did you notice that he was real quiet, real subtle?

“They didn’t want to make a big deal because they didn’t have confidence in themselves.

“I know exactly what to do. He’s been knocked out, and I know I can knock him out. I’ve hurt everybody I’ve been in the ring with in sparring and in fighting since I was 13 years old, and this is no different,” Benavidez said.

Fans want hostility

“When you get in a fight like this, a big moment,” said Benavidez. “Look at all this. People talk down about this kind of behavior, but honestly, this is what people want to see. They want to see two guys that don’t like each other go at it.

“It really does motivate me, but I’m a professional. I’m not going to put anything in jeopardy. I’m not going to go into a fight with a lot of emotions. I’m going to do my job in there.

“I’m a Mexican Monster. This is how I fought my whole life. I go in there, and I put beatings on people since I was a young kid until now. Nothing has ever changed.

“They can say I’m flat-footed, but when they get in the ring with me, it’s a whole different story. We’re going to get into 15 rounds next week. We’re going to keep going. Conditioning has never been my problem.

“I know exactly what to do for this fight and when to follow the game plan. I want to put a little bit more pressure on myself. I know when I put pressure on myself, the best comes out of me. I’m excited. This is my moment.

“I’m going to be the best David Benavidez on March 25th. This isn’t my persona all the time, but sometimes you’ve got to take yourself to that place, and it’s a little scary,” Benavidez said.

Caleb’s movement could be problem

“Him moving around the ring,”  said Benavidez when asked what he needs to worry about with Plant. “He throws good combinations, so I’m going to have to time him, and I’m going to have to cut the ring off a lot.

“He’s definitely going to box. As soon as he feels the power, he’s going to start running even more. I wasn’t impressed,” said Benavidez about Plant’s win over Anthony Dirrell last October. “He [Plant] was getting booed in the fight. When have you seen me booed in my fights?

“It was a good knockout, but he was getting touched a lot. I know if I put hands on him like that, he’s not getting up. He’s a good boxer; he’s got good defense, he’s got good speed.

“I wouldn’t want to fight a fighter that sucks. We’re here for a reason. He’s a good fighter. He put a great fight against Canelo. I know he’s going to come prepared. I’m coming prepared too, and once that pressure is put on, the best comes out of me.

“Hopefully,” said Benavidez when asked if he thinks he’ll get the Canelo fight next if he beats Plant. “That’s the fight that everyone wants to see. Hopefully, they respect the mandatorys, and the fight happens.

“I’ve done everything there is to be done. It has to come from him. He has to be pressured, but if he doesn’t care, he doesn’t care, but that’s for the fans. That’s what we want,” said Benavidez about Canelo fighting him.

“I feel blessed, especially when he sat me down and said that I should be called ‘Mexican Monster.’ You don’t get many opportunities in life. You meet your idols, and they go so far as to give you a nickname, so it definitely means a lot to me,” said Benavidez.

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