David Benavidez is scheduled to take on rival Caleb Plant in an important 168-pound showdown Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Here are five questions — and answers — going into the highly anticipated pay-per-view fight.
What makes the matchup compelling?
This is a matchup of two elite fighters in their primes, which doesn’t happen often enough in boxing these days. It’s an interesting style matchup, a hard-punching stalker vs. an athletic boxer who also has some pop. The stakes are high. The winner will be at the front of the line to challenge undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez, probably after the Mexican star challenges Dmitry Bivol again in the fall. The loser will have to rebuild, particularly if the result is conclusive. That can be a long, difficult process. And the seemingly genuine tension between the principals has injected extra energy into an already-compelling promotion. Indeed, this is the best possible 168-pound matchup not involving Alvarez.
Is Benavidez as good as he seems to be?
We’ll see. Benavidez’s seek-and-destroy style has lain waste to the vast majority of his opponents, including knockouts in his last six fights. He appears to be a genuine threat to anyone, including Alvarez. Is he? The eye test says, “yes.” However, he hasn’t faced the level of opposition necessary to prove beyond doubt that he’s among the best fighters of his era. His most meaningful victory? Probably then-titleholder Anthony Dirrell, who was stopped by Benavidez in nine rounds in 2019. Beyond Dirrell has been a string of solid, but limited opponents. Plant arguably is the best fighter Benavidez will have faced, meaning a victory – particularly a convincing one — will help underscore the notion that Benavidez is the real deal.
Could Plant do to Benavidez what he did to Anthony Dirrell?
Possibly, but probably not. Plant had only three stoppages in his previous 10 fights but demonstrated against Dirrell that he can end even a big fight in an instant, knocking the former titleholder into unconsciousness with a perfect left hook. That punch would hurt anyone. At the same time, Benavidez isn’t Dirrell. The latter was a 38-year-old with a lot of miles on his odometer, one who had been stopped by Benavidez three fights earlier. He might’ve been ripe for such an ignominious fate. Benavidez is a big, strong, fresh 26-year-old who has taken the best that all his opponents have thrown at him. It’s difficult to imagine a historically average puncher becoming the first to put Benavidez away.
Will this fight look like Plant vs. Alvarez?
Probably. Plant, a slick boxer, will likely give Benavidez problems with his stick-and-move tactics early in the fight but he’ll take more and more punches as the fight progresses, get worn down and struggle down the stretch as he did in his 11th-round knockout loss to Alvarez in 2021. Of course, most would agree that Benavidez can’t box as well as Alvarez. At the same time, he throws more shots than the Mexican and is the most accurate puncher in boxing, according to CompuBox. That could compensate for any deficiency in his technical skills – if there are any deficiencies – and relative lack of experience in big fights. That’s why I’m predicting that Benavidez will break down and ultimately stop Plant sometime during the championship rounds.
Can the winner beat Alvarez?
Depends on Alvarez. The pound-for-pounder defeated Plant conclusively, building a lead on the scorecards and then stopping the challenger in the penultimate round. There was no doubt about who the better fighter was. Plant probably could win a rematch only if the 32-year-old Alvarez is in decline or hindered by injuries, which seems to have been the case in the Mexican’s past few fights. We’ll see how Alvarez looks against John Ryder on May 6 and then, presumably, in his rematch with Bivol in September. Meanwhile, Benavidez would be an underdog but might be competitive against Alvarez even at his best. The former is naturally big for a 168-pounder, has elite fire power and is in his physical prime. If nothing else, it would be fascinating to see how that fight would play out.
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