Pound for pound: Was David Benavidez’s victory over Caleb Plant enough to elevate him?

Pound for pound: Was David Benavidez’s victory over Caleb Plant enough to elevate him higher on the list?

David Benavidez demonstrated in his one-sided victory over Caleb Plant on Saturday that he’s the best 168-pounder in the world not named Canelo Alvarez.

But was that accomplishment enough to lift the Honorable Mention pound-for-pounder higher on the list?

No. Here’s why.

Plant, an excellent boxer, arguably was the toughest opponent of Benavidez’s career even though the Phoenix native is a two-time world titleholder. And while it took time for Benavidez to close the distance on his fleet opponent, he ultimately delivered a beat down.

That’s why Benavidez was named Boxing Junkie Fighter of the Month for March.

However, Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) probably will have to take down an opponent on the pound-for-pound list or possibly someone on the cusp in order to climb into the Top 15.

Of course, he’ll eventually get that opportunity if he continues to win. And based on what we saw this past weekend, it’s a good bet he’ll do so.

Next pound-for-pounder up: No. 13 Shakur Stevenson is scheduled to Shuichiro Yoshino in a 135-pound bout on Apri 8 in Newark, New Jersey.

Here’s what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – Ordered by the WBO to defend his 147-pound title against Alexis Rocha but no agreement is in place.
  2. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to challenge 122-pound titleholder and Honorable Mention Stephen Fulton Jr. on July 25 in Tokyo.
  3. Oleksandr Usyk – Talks with No. 6 Tyson Fury for a heavyweight title-unification bout fell apart, leaving Usyk with no opponent for the time being.
  4. Errol Spence Jr. – Unified 147-pound titleholder reportedly set to face Keith Thurman at 154 pounds in April but no official announcement has been made.
  5. Dmitry Bivol – Reportedly in talks to face No. 12 Artur Beterbiev in a 175-pound title-unification fight but no agreement is in place.
  6. Tyson Fury – Talks with No. 3 Oleksandr Usyk for a heavyweight title-unification bout fell apart, leaving Fury with no opponent for the time being.
  7. Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
  8. Canelo Alvarez– Scheduled to defend his undisputed 168-pound championship against John Ryder on May 6 in Guadalajara, Mexico.
  9. Jermell Charlo – Expected to defend his undisputed 154-pound championship against top contender Tim Tszyu this summer but no agreement is in place.
  10. Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to face Ryan Garcia in a 136-pound bout on April 15 in Las Vegas.
  11. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Scheduled to challenge undisputed 135-pound champion Devin Haney on May 20 in Las Vegas.
  12. Artur Beterbiev – Reportedly in talks to face No. 5 Dmitry Bivol in a 175-pound title-unification fight as early but no agreement is in place.
  13. Shakur Stevenson – Scheduled to face Shuichiro Yoshino in a 135-pound bout on April 8 in Newark, New Jersey.
  14. Roman Gonzalez – No fight scheduled.
  15. Devin Haney – Scheduled to defend his undisputed 135-pound championship against Vasiliy Lomachenko on May 20 in Las Vegas..

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): David Benavidez (no fight scheduled); Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Stephen Fulton Jr. (scheduled to defend his 122-pound title against No. 2 Naoya Inoue on July 25 in Tokyo); Kazuto Ioka (reportedly scheduled to challenge 115-pound titleholder Joshua Franco in June in Japan but no announcement has been made); Josh Taylor (reportedly will defend his WBO 140-pound title against Teofimo Lopez on June 10 in New York but no announcement has been made).