By Ian S Palmer
The WBC Interim Super Middleweight Title is up for grabs this Saturday, March 25th when unbeaten former WBC Super Middleweight Champion David Benavidez of Phoenix, Arizona meets former IBF Super Middleweight boss Caleb Plant of Nashville, Tennessee. The 12-rounder from Las Vegas, Nevada can be seen live in America on Showtime pay-per-view. Benavidez last fought in May when he stopped former world champion David Lemieux in the third round to retain the interim belt. Plant was last in action when he halted Anthony Dirrell in the ninth round in October.
The 26-year-old Benavidez won the vacant WBC Middleweight belt in September, 2017 with a split decision over Ronald Gavril even though he was dropped in the 12th round. He then beat Gavril by unanimous decision in a rematch five months later. He sat out for a year after testing positive for cocaine and returned in March, 2019 with a second-round stoppage of J’Leon Love.
Benavidez then regained the title by stopping Anthony Dirrell in the ninth round in September, 2019. He lost it again though, this time on the weigh scale in August, 2020 against Roamer Alexis Angulo when he came in 2.8 lbs overweight. However, he still took care of Angulo after 10 rounds and is now hoping to land a title shot against Canelo Alvarez, who is the undisputed king of the 168-lb division.
Benavidez is a hard-hitter who turned pro in 2013 after a short 15-0 amateur career. He’s boxed 118 rounds since and won the vacant NABF Junior Light Heavyweight Title in April, 2015 with a first-round TKO of Rollin Williams. He enters the match with a perfect record of 26-0 with 23 Ko’s and owns quite a bit of power with a current knockout ratio of 88.5 per cent. Gavril took him the distance in both of their fights but he’s now won six in a row by stoppage.
Benavidez likes to slug it out and that means he’s not really the hardest guy to hit. He appears to have a decent chin though even though Gavril decked him. He stands 6-feet-2-inches tall with a reach of 74.5 inches and his biggest wins so far have been over Lemieux, Kyrone Davis, Ronald Ellis, Angulo, Dirrell, Love, Gavril, Rogelio (Porky) Medina, and Denis Douglin.
The 30-year-old Plant, who now resides in Las Vegas, won the IBF title in January, 2019 when he beat Jose Uzcategui by unanimous decision and dropped him twice on his way to victory. He then defended the belt against Mike Lee by third-round TKO in 2019 before stopping the unheralded Vincent Feigenbutz in 2020 and beating Caleb Truax by unanimous decision in January, 2021 before losing to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez via an 11th-round stoppage in November, 2021 for his lone loss as a pro.
Plant enters the ring with an impressive record of 22-1 with 13 Ko’s and has boxed 142 rounds since turning pro in 2014. He’s a good-sized 168-pounder at 6-feet-1-inch tall with a 74-inch wingspan and gives up just an inch in height to Benavidez. He doesn’t really possess great one-punch power, regardless of his sensational knockout of Dirrell, but has a decent knockout ratio of 56.5 per cent. Plant enjoyed a fine amateur career and fought in the 2011 and 2013 Golden Gloves tournaments.
He was also an alternate for the American Olympic Team for the 2012 Games in London, England. His best wins as a pro have been over Dirrell, Truax, Lee, Uzcategui, Rogelio Medina, Juan De Angel, Carlos Galvan, Thomas Awimbono, Adasat Rodriguez and Andrew Hernandez. He possesses fine mobility, skills and speed and will try to utilize those attributes against Benavidez.
Prediction…
Benavidez is a slugger with a lot of power, energy and aggression and will need to utilize his attributes against Plant, who is the better boxer but still has enough power to score a knockout. Benavidez won’t outbox Plant and he should stick to what he’s been successful at so far, which is to simply overwhelm his opponents with heavy shots. He’s going to get tagged too though so his chin better hold out. As long as Benavidez lets his hands go in volume I’m going with him.
I’ll go with Benavidez in a minor slugfest.
