By Sean Jones: David Benavidez & Caleb Plant’s team traded trash talk with one another before today’s press conference at LA Live in Los Angeles ahead of their March 25th fight on Showtime PPV at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs) made it clear that the’s going to kick Plant’s backside when they get in the ring next month. He’s got a lot of personal dislike for the former IBF super middleweight champion ‘Sweethands’ Plant (22-1, 13 KOs), and he’s going to take it out on him inside the ring.
Surprisingly, many boxing fans are picking Plant to win, feeling impressed with what they saw of him in his recent ninth round knockout win over 38-year-old Anthony Dirrell last October.
Ignoring the fact that the fight was dead even after eight rounds, a lot of people believe that the nine-year pro Plant has suddenly developed punching power at 3o that he’d never shown before.
Looking at it realistically, when you’ve got a fighter facing an inactive 38-year-old guy with a lot of wear & tear on them, as Dirrell does, the chances are high that you’re going to look a heck of a lot better than you did when you were struggling against fighters like Canelo Alvarez & Jose Uzcategui.
“I think Plant has got intelligence. He’s got speed on his side. Everybody talks about as big as David is, and he’s a really fast, but I mean the body. They’re two different builds at 168, and that’s what wears people down on fight night,” said Shawn Porter to Porter Way podcast about the David Benavidez vs. Caleb Plant fight on March 25th.
Lil pre-presser tussle pic.twitter.com/SXQoCcp0vi
— Emily (@elleinthesun) February 2, 2023
“He’s probably 175, 180,” Porter said about Benavidez. “He doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy that is going to go up to 190 in the ring. I think David Benavidez puts his weight correctly, and he comes into the ring ready to work.
“But I think the speed of Caleb Plant is a little faster than what David is used to. Also, I think the foot movement is much sharper and better than what David Benavidez is used to.”
“That’s David’s biggest weakness, his feet, in my opinion,” said Carson Merck.
“Then the precision punching that we know that Caleb has. Caleb can hit you with a jab from the outside. Caleb can stab you to the body, but the wear down,” said Porter.
“No, Canelo didn’t wear down, but Canelo was definitely pacing himself and looking for moments and blocking and things like that. I think the style is a little bit different for David Benavidez, and I think David wears a lot on his arms and on his gloves.
“I wonder how that looks against somebody on the elite level and has some power of his [Plant] own and has some speed of his own and can move.
“This is a problem for both guys. I think you learn a lot, whether you lose, get a win, or a draw, and I think Caleb definitely learned some things being in the ring with Canelo. This energy is a different level, and if you’ve never been there before, you’re going to have to find your way to find, ‘Okay, I’ve got it. I’m settled, I’m comfortable, I’m confident right here.’
“There’s a rollercoaster ride of emotions you go through. I think he’s [Plant] been through that now. I think he’s hungrier now than he was before he fought Canelo. I could be overestimating,” said Porter.
“I think the personal distaste they have for each other helps as well because even if he was a little bit less hungry, he hates this dude. So he’s definitely not taking any shortcuts against David Benavidez, and David Benavidez is the same against Plant,” Merck said about Plant disliking Benavidez.
“I lean David, but if you talk to me tomorrow, I might say Caleb.”
“Yeah, I got Caleb,” said Porter.