Opinions and Observations: Benavidez-Plant

The idea that David Benavidez might be one of boxing's boogeymen has percolated throughout the sport over the last few years. In his development fights and title defenses (when he was a champion), he had plowed through lesser opposition mostly with ease. With wrecking balls in both hands, an active motor and a high Ring IQ, Benavidez had already demonstrated that he possessed high-level talent; but despite his manifold offensive gifts, he still hadn't beaten elite opposition.

There were three reasons for his lack of top opponents: For one, he wasn't fighting in a strong division until recently. There just weren't too many legitimate top guys to fight. A second factor was of his own doing. Benavidez had lost two titles outside of the ring (failing a drug test and missing weight). As a result, he didn't have the same bargaining position. Without a belt, no one was forced to fight him or go through him to unify the titles. And finally, let's face it, no elite fighter had been in a rush to face him for any reason, title or not. Opponents and their teams have eyes. And while watching Benavidez beat up another opponent, potential challengers weren't licking their lips and proclaiming, "This is the guy that I want!" 

However, former champion Caleb Plant accepted the Benavidez challenge and for that he deserves credit. He could have gone in any number of directions for another title shot, but instead he chose the most perilous option.

Photo courtesy of Ryan Hafey

In analyzing the matchup, Plant had a path to victory. Featuring superior foot speed, fast hands, a sneaky left hook and an ability to land punches while on the move, Plant presented challenges for the more flat-footed Benavidez. In addition, Plant was going to fight on his own terms. He wouldn't get sucked into a war or feel the need to play to the crowd, vital attributes in potentially beating Benavidez. 

Plant started Saturday's fight brightly. With his jab, left hook and purposeful movement, he flummoxed Benavidez in the early rounds and controlled the pace of the fight. That Benavidez couldn't even reach more than 40 punches a round until the sixth demonstrates how successful Plant was in the first half of the match. 

But as early as the third round, Plant started to lose command of what was working for him. Instead of circling and using purposeful lateral movement to land his punches, he too often went into retreat or decided to hold. And as Benavidez started to get cooking with power punches, Plant evaded or held even more. It was a negative style, which is fine, but Plant also wasn't getting enough work done. 

In an interesting development, Benavidez gained a foothold in the fight with his left hook. Now, this was a bold play in that Plant's best punch is his left hook. Remember the old boxing adage, "Never hook with a hooker." Well, Benavidez was willing to turn that axiom on its head and expose himself to Plant's power in order to land his. It was a decision that smacked of machismo, and it worked for him. When they traded their best hooks, Benavidez's shots were far more substantial. Benavidez still wasn't landing with regularity in the third and fourth rounds, but his single left hooks were damaging. 

The fight started to swing in Benavidez's direction for good in the middle rounds. What I found most exhilarating was how Benavidez would dominate a stretch of the fight with one punch and then the next round he would get the best of Plant with another weapon in his arsenal. It seemed as if in each successive round he dug into his bag of tricks and found something else that worked. He went from the left hook to the head, to the overhand right, to the left hook to the body, to the right uppercut, to opening up with combinations. Despite Plant's elusiveness, Benavidez was able to get through with all sorts of nastiness. 

As Benavidez had more and more success in the fight, it became clear that referee Kenny Bayless wasn't going to give David a fair shake. Despite Plant's incessant holding, it was Benavidez who was often warned for fouling. In addition, Bayless wouldn't let Benavidez work with a free hand in the clinch. There were literally a dozen times where I believe that Bayless broke up the action when the fight could have continued. These instances often stopped Benavidez's momentum and temporarily saved Plant from taking more damage. 

And as bad as all that was, Bayless' most egregious moment was when he stopped the action when Plant was hurt to take him to the ringside doctor for a cut that was in an unthreatening area. Overall, it was a terrible display from Bayless, who once was one of the best referees in the sport. 

Despite the difficulties that Benavidez had with Bayless, he hurt Plant seemingly at will in the latter half of the fight. In the eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh, I thought that Plant was close to being stopped. And perhaps his corner or Bayless could have called off the fight, but to Plant's credit he was able to survive.

Photo courtesy of Ryan Hafey

Ultimately, Benavidez won via an impressive unanimous decision; I don't think that he should be criticized for not getting the stoppage. He was fighting two guys in the ring, and with a different official I think that he would have been more than capable of scoring the KO. 

Plant just didn't have the punching power to keep Benavidez honest. Although he made Benavidez uncomfortable and forced him to think his way through the fight, Plant couldn't stop Benavidez from marching forward. Plant has shown that he can be a capable operator in the ring, but when he faces real power, he's at a significant disadvantage.  

As for Benavidez, he has won me over during the last few years. Initially, I wasn't a huge fan of his; I felt that he didn't take the sport seriously enough. But since he lost his last title, I have been impressed with how he has rededicated himself to boxing. He hasn't had the same problems with making weight. His conditioning is now much better. And this has enabled him to become even more imposing in the ring. 

If Benavidez can stay on the straight-and-narrow he will have many more triumphs ahead of him. He's now hitting his peak and would give any fighter trouble in his surrounding weight classes. His offensive arsenal is frightening and his ring intelligence is an underrated part of his game.  Let's hope he understands how close he is to the precipice of greatness. 

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. 

He's a contributing writer for Ring Magazine, a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook. 

Benavidez-Plant: Preview and Prediction

One of the best matchups in the super middleweight division will take place on Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas between former champions David Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs) and Caleb Plant (22-1, 13 KOs). The winner of Saturday's fight will become the clear #2 man in the division, just beneath Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, who currently holds all of the major belts in the division. 

Benavidez-Plant has been discussed for a number of years and there is genuine bad blood between the fighters. Stylistically the matchup features a high-volume big puncher (Benavidez) against a consummate boxer (Plant). But let's also not be too reductive about what each of these fighters is capable of in the ring. Plant is coming off the signature knockout of his career, with his double left hook destruction of Anthony Dirrell. And Benavidez has tremendous boxing acumen, with an ability to hurt opponents at every range and with every punch available in his arsenal. Below will be my keys to the fight and I'll have a prediction at the end of the piece. 

Benavidez (left) and Plant and the kickoff press conference
Photo courtesy of Showtime

1. Can Benavidez close the footspeed gap?

It's no secret that Plant moves much better than Benavidez. In addition, Plant fights in a style where he can win rounds while on the move; he's not just being evasive. Featuring lightning quick jabs and left hooks, Plant gets his work in and moves out of the way without absorbing too much damage.

Benavidez can be ponderous with his footwork, often crossing up his feet or remaining too flat-footed, which allows an opponent an exit route to either side. However, Benavidez has fought his entire career with this limitation and he has been able to track down opponents who move away from him. His stoppage win over Ronald Ellis in 2021 is an example of this. Even though Benavidez can be outmaneuvered, he applies constant pressure and he also has the benefit of being able to hurt opponents from long range, ideal for catching foes who back straight up or believe that they may be safely out of danger. 

2. Controlling punch volume 

There is a significant difference in the fighters' punch volume within a round. Benavidez usually averages in the 60s in terms of punches per round while Plant is more often in the 40s. In order for Plant to be successful, he's going to have to control the overall activity in the fight. He's not set up to throw 70 or 80 punches a round on a consistent basis and if he does get to that level, it's unlikely that he will be able to sustain it over 12 rounds. 

Benavidez can still cause damage if his punch volume is lower, but he's much more imposing when he can throw multi-punch combinations. Against Plant, Benavidez is going to have to make each punch count, because he may not get many opportunities to unload at will, especially early in the fight. Single-punch right hands or hard jabs may be the way to initially get to Plant. Benavidez will need to make sure that his outside game is sharp, and he'll have to anticipate where Plant will be next. 

Throwing a punch to a spot will be more important than hitting what's right in front of him, since Plant rarely stays in place for long. It also would benefit Benavidez to shorten his shots. He has enough power to affect Plant without landing home run bombs. It's more important to make sure that he can connect. 

3. Plant's gas tank

Plant often has his best success early in a fight, when he's at his freshest. He performed well in the first half of his fight against Canelo, but Canelo's pressure and body punching curtailed Plant's movement in the bout's second half; Plant ultimately was knocked out in the 11th round. Similarly, Plant was able to knock down Jose Uzcategui in the second and fourth rounds in his title-winning effort, but he did fade in the fight's final third. 

Plant's trainer, Stephen "Breadman" Edwards, will often talk about how fast a fighter is carried, and he's essentially talking about the pace of a fight. Breadman is acutely aware that Plant doesn't want to over-move against Benavidez, which could lead to two issues: One, the optics of potentially being seen as "running" instead of fighting can be negative for Plant. Some judges will not reward too much movement. In addition, by moving so much, Plant runs the risk of depleting himself for the back half of the fight. Plant will need to utilize his movement against Benavidez, but he will have to thread the needle – don’t move so much to penalize himself, but don't be that stationary as to give Benavidez additional opportunities to land.

4. Can Plant spring an early-round surprise? 

It was genuinely shocking when Plant scored his first knockdown against Uzcategui. After all, Uzcategui was perceived as the puncher in the matchup. And I think that the Uzcategui fight provides a template for how Plant can be victorious in this matchup. Benavidez's defense can be lackadaisical at times. Look at how he was dropped coming in with his hands down against Ronald Gavril. Gavril connected with a short left hook that Benavidez didn't see coming and David was sent to the canvas. 

Plant will have the speed advantage early in the fight and he will need to keep Benavidez honest. It would be wise for him to try to land something hard early. After all, things can happen in a fight. Maybe he can drop Benavidez early. Maybe he can cause a significant cut. Both of these scenarios could drastically alter the trajectory of the fight. And it would be a mistake for Plant to immediately get on his bike in the early rounds. At the fight's outset, he will have the element of surprise. He needs to believe in his power and take some chances. 

5. One-hand vs. two

In his first fight with Breadman Edwards against Dirrell, Plant sat down on his right hand much more than he had in previous fights. This is a very important development because throughout Plant's career his left hand has been far more advanced than his right. 

Canelo was able to eventually neutralize Plant's left hook by smothering it. This essentially removed Plant's primary power punch. I don't believe that Benavidez is the same level of student that Canelo is, but still, he's a natural fighter. If Benavidez doesn't feel threatened by Plant's right, he could change the angle of his attack to limit Plant's left. Thus, it's imperative for Plant to show confidence in his right. Otherwise, he will diminish his own offensive possibilities. 

Benavidez has a two-fisted attack and can throw crushing hooks and uppercuts with both hands to either the head or body. He's a far more well-rounded puncher than Plant. Although he may not have the same sharpness as Plant, his punches bludgeon opponents. In addition, because he can throw any punch at any time, opponents have a very tough time defending themselves against him. His unpredictability is a big advantage. 

Prediction: 

In short, I believe that the fight will play out similarly to Plant's matchup with Canelo, but with Plant doing better on a round-by-round basis on Saturday than he did against Alvarez. However, I still have concerns about Plant's gas tank and his ability to move for 12 rounds against a committed, hard body puncher. 

I think that Plant will get off to a fast start and I expect him to mix in hard power punches with his jabs in the early rounds. I think we'll see his right hand become a more pronounced part of his offensive attack. He will sit down on his punches better than he has in the past and will try to score with convincing blows with both hands. 

But keep an eye out for Benavidez's right hands from distance. As Caleb tries to exit the pocket, Benavidez's straight right and right hook will come into play, and he'll hit Plant unexpectedly. I also think that Benavidez will invest in the body early in the fight, shooting straight rights and left hooks whenever he can. He may not win many of the early rounds, but his plan will be to wear Plant down for the second half of the fight. 

Ultimately, I think that Benavidez's pressure and power punching will turn the tide in the fight's final third. Plant will find that that ring will suddenly seem smaller. When he tries to trade, he won't get the better of exchanges. And attempting to clinch Benavidez is an awful proposition. He's a madman on the inside and can wear fighters down without even throwing punches. I think that Benavidez will be successful in softening Plant up in the championship rounds. The fight will be very close on the scorecards, but Benavidez won't let the bout make it to the final bell. 

David Benavidez defeats Caleb Plant by 12th-round stoppage. 

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. 

He's a contributing writer for Ring Magazine, a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook.