Canelo put on notice by Benavidez, he’ll force fight after Plant bout

By Boxing News - 03/22/2023 - Comments

By Sean Jones: Interim WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez says he’s going to go to the WBC to have them force undisputed 168-lb champ Canelo Alvarez to face him next if he defeats Caleb Plant this Saturday night on March 25th in their headliner on Showtime PPV.

Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs) says he’s been Canelo’s WBC mandatory for the past two fights, and the sanctioning body still hasn’t ordered the fight for some reason. Some boxing fans believe the WBC has been protecting Canelo by not ordering him to defend his belt against Benavidez.

You can’t blame Benavidez for wanting to have the WBC force Canelo to fight him because if he sits back and waits, he may never get a chance to fight the Mexican star before he retires.

The WBC still hasn’t forced WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo to defend his belt in the last two years.

Benavidez wants to face Canelo to prove himself

“I want to fight Canelo to prove that I’m the best at 168, but if he doesn’t want to fight, then, of course, that’s the route I’ll go,” said David Benavidez to the media on Wednesday when asked if he’ll go the WBC route to force them to order the Canelo Alvarez fight if he’s victorious against Caleb Plant on Saturday night

“I’ve been the mandatory for the past two fights. It’s my turn to fight for the title, but first things first, I’m taking care of business on March 25th.

“That’s what I am. I’ve always shown that offensive side of me. I’ve worked on the defensive side of me as well for this fight. Like I said, I’m going to have to bring every weapon out of my arsenal to get the knockout over Caleb Plant.

“I want to follow in that great line of Mexican fighters. I try to live in the moment. This is a beautiful moment. All these people took their time to come see, and I’m very grateful,” said Benavidez.

Knocking out Plant is the goal for Benavidez

“Now that I know I can get here, the sky’s the limit that I can continue be here,” said Benavidez. “This is where I’ve wanted to be my whole life. I want to continue to work hard.

“I’d be satisfied with a victory, but I’ll be disappointed in myself. I’ve been talking a lot of s**t, so I want to go and get the knockout. Like I said, I’ve hurt everybody I’ve been in the ring with. I can definitely get it with the right shots.

“I have the stamina. I’ve been sparring 15 rounds at most with four different sparring partners. It’s nothing new to me. I’m going to keep pushing until I get that,” said Benavidez.

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