By Sam Volz: David Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs) has the advantage in natural size, youth & power in his headliner fight tonight against Caleb Plant (22-1, 12 KOs) on Showtime PPV at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.
There’s no mystery about what interim WBC super middleweight champion Benavidez will be doing in each round, as his fighting style is generally always the same, with him coming forward, pressing his opponents, and either bludgeoning them with single shots or quickly landing rapid machine-like shots.
Benavidez, 26, has already revealed his game plan for this fight against the 30-year-old former IBF super middleweight champion Plant.
Known by Mike Tyson’s nickname, Benavidez, AKA ‘The Mexican Monster,’ will be targeting Plant’s body because he understands that’s the best way to keep him from running all night.
Caleb Plant’s last seven opponents
- Anthony Dirrell – KO 9
- Canelo Alvarez – TKO 11 loss
- Caleb Truax – UD 12
- Vincent Feigenbutz – TKO 10
- Mike Lee – TKO 3
- Jose Uzcategui – UD 12
- Rogelio Medina – UD 12
Plant likes to move around, and use his powerful jab and left hook to dominate his opponents. He’s very difficult to beat in the rounds, and he’ll likely build up a wide lead over Benavidez by the sixth.
Where things could start falling apart for Plant is by the eighth round, as the pressure from Benavidez will start to get to him. Plant can’t move nonstop as he did against Dirrell because he hits harder and he’s going to be aiming his shots at the midsection to bring him to earth.
Benavidez to attack Plant’s body
Getting hit to the body while you’re moving is painful for anyone who has ever boxed before. You can’t brace for the body shots as well when you’re on the move, and it takes your legs away to where you eventually are forced to stop moving.
Plant will need to be able to fight Benavidez from a stationary position because he won’t be able to move as he did against Anthony Dirrell because he will be attacking his body all night.
So it’s likely that Plant will be forced to stand and fight Benavidez a lot earlier than he did in his contest against Canelo Alvarez in their fight in 2021.
The 26-year-old Benavidez has knocked out his last six opponents, and he could make Plant his seventh consecutive stoppage. No one has gone the distance against Benavidez since his fight with Ronald Gavril in 2017.
Benavidez’s last six fights:
- David Lemieux – TKO 3
- Kyrone David – TKO 7
- Ronald Ellis – TKO 11
- Roamer Alexis Angulo – RTD 10
- Anthony Dirrell – TKO 9
- J’Leon Love – TKO 2
Canelo didn’t have the arm length or the foot speed to get to Plant’s body until the championship rounds.
When Canelo finally did start hitting Plant with body shots in the tenth, he wore him down and took him out in the next round, dropping him twice to get the stoppage in the eleventh.
What time is Plant vs. Benavidez?
Tonight’s Plant vs. Benavidez event will start at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
“With the Plant-Benavidez fight, I think it’s going to be a hell of a match, especially in the first few rounds,” said Anthony Dirrell to Fighthype about tonight’s David Benavidez vs. Caleb Plant fight.
Plant is going to be nearly impossible for Benavidez to hit cleanly with shots in the early going, and he could make him look bad with his boxing ability.
What Benavidez has in his favor is the fact that he’s willing to walk through shots to land his own punches. He’s got the chin to take whatever Plant dishes out, so there’s little chance that Benavidez will get knocked out as we saw with Dirrell last October.
“Plant is going to box. He’s a tremendous boxer,” said Dirrell. “Everybody seen that and knows that. He’s going to box and use his ability to move around the ring. I think Benavidez is going to have problems with him early.
“He’s going to try and slow him down by walking forward and doing what Benavidez do. Benavidez is a great fighter also. He’s [Plant] going to try and move and stick & move. There’s nothing wrong with that,” said Dirrell.
There’s little doubt that Benavidez will be on top of Plant the entire fight, quickly cutting off the ring and forcing him to exchange with him whether he wants to or not.
“If you win the fight, the fight is won, period, however way you can,” said Dirrell. “With Benavidez, the later rounds are going to be his rounds all day. I think Benavidez don’t stop; he’s a warrior. They call him ‘The Mexican Monster’ for a reason.
“I think he stops him late in the ninth, tenth, or eleventh round, but I could be wrong. That’s just my opinion. This is a good fight for the fans. This is the fight the fans wanted to see, but that’s what I think. I think he [Benavidez] stops him late,” said Dirrell.
What channel is Plant vs. Benavidez?
Plant vs. Benavidez is on Showtime PPV at 9 pm. ET/6 pm. PT from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
“Plant has a problem with fatigue late in the rounds, but he’s still a hell of a fighter. He still goes in there and gives the fans what they want to see. He is still going in there to stick to his game plan, which is to stick & move, and box.
“It’s boxing for a reason. You don’t get in there and slug with a slugger. So that’s my take on the fight. I think both guys are great fighters. I think it’s a hell of a fight. Who wins is the fans. They definitely win off this fight.
“I’m just happy we keep getting fights like this that the fans want to see. My take is Benavidez by stoppage late. Benavidez is a naturally big boy. He comes down in weight. He makes the weight.
“I think he missed weight one time, but he usually makes weight. I have no problem with it. He’s going to come in bigger than he weighed in for sure,” said Dirrell.
