David Benavidez vs. Caleb Plant: date, time, how to watch, background

Date: Saturday, March 25
Time: 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
Where: MGM Grand, Las Vegas
TV/Stream: Pay-per-view
Division: Super middleweight (168 pounds)
At stake: No major titles
Pound-for-pound ranking: Benavidez, Honorable Mention
Odds: Benavidez 2½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)

Also on the card: Cody Crowley vs. Abel Ramos, welterweights; Jesus Ramos vs. Joey Spencer, junior middleweights; Chris Colbert vs. Jose Valenzuela, lightweights
Prediction: Benavidez KO 10
Background: Benavidez vs. Plant might be the biggest possible 168-pound fight not involving undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez. Benavidez is 26 but already a two-time super middleweight champ who lost his titles outside the ring, first after testing positive for cocaine and then for missing weight. His missteps certainly haven’t damaged his reputation. The strapping native of Phoenix is one of the most destructive offensive fighters in the world, which many believe makes him a genuine threat to Alvarez. He has stopped his last six opponents, including David Lemieux in his most-recent fight last May. Plant, also a former titleholder, lost his belt to Alvarez by an 11^th-round knockout in November 2021. The athletic, polished techician bounced back to stop former champ Anthony Dirrell with a single left hook in the ninth round last October, restoring whatever luster he lost by falling to the Mexican pound-for-pounder. The Benavidez-Plant winner will be in position to challenge Alvarez, although the champ is scheduled to defend against John Ryder on May 6 and is targeting a rematch with 175-pound beltholder Dmitry Bivol in September.

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