David Benavidez is admittedly undecided on the outcome when he and Caleb Plant finally meet in the ring.
Make no mistake; the unbeaten former two-time WBC super middleweight titlist is fully confident of coming out on top in their March 25 Showtime Pay-Per-View headliner from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. There are days when he believes it will end in a violent knockout. Other times, he envisions a long-drawn out beating.
“I wake up feeling different every day,” Benavidez admitted to host Brian Custer during a press conference held Thursday afternoon at L.A. Live to formally announce the upcoming fight. “I just want to give the fans what they want to see. I’m 26-0, with 23 knockouts.
“He knows how the canvas feels. I’m gonna put it on that motherf—–. He’s been laid out before.”
Benavidez (26-0, 23KOs) has stopped each of his last seven opponents since going the distance in back-to-back WBC title fight wins over Ronald Gavril. The 26-year-old Phoenix, Arizona native has barely lost a round in his past four fights, including a one-sided, third-round knockout of faded, former IBF middleweight titlist David Lemieux last May 21 to win the interim WBC super middleweight titlist.
Plant (22-1, 13KOs) suffered an eleventh-round knockout at the hands of Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in their November 2021 undisputed super middleweight championship. It’s the only career loss to date for the Ashland City, Tennessee native, who now lives and trains in Las Vegas. He rebounded in a big way, scoring a ninth-round knockout of former two-time titlist Anthony Dirrell last October 15 in a fight recognized by BoxingScene.com as the 2022 Knockout of the Year.
Benavidez scored a ninth-round stoppage of Dirrell to regain the WBC super middleweight title in their September 2019 clash. It is among his seven straight wins inside the distance, having shown a flair both for ending fights early and brutalizing his opponents before drowning them in the later rounds.
“Look at everyone how they look after I fight them. They’re beat the f— up,” noted Benavidez. His [sparring] partner—and I don’t want to be a dick, either, because I like Kyrone Davis (whom Benavidez stopped in the seventh round of their November 2021 clash in Phoenix). When I get up here, I don’t play around.
“I’m the Mexican monster. He’s no different than any fighter I’ve fought. He’s gonna see on March 25.
“On March 25, I guarantee that I’m knocking Caleb Plant out before round six.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox