As is always the case when a big fight is upon us, the folks at Ring Magazine have compiled an online poll of boxing experts, with each pundit, fighter, promoter, etc giving their take on the fight. This Saturday night in Las Vegas, it will be David Benavidez and Caleb Plant going at it in one of the most anticipated 168 pound grudge matches of recent times.
Grudge match? These two absolutely cannot stand each other, and both warriors have vowed to make the other one pay in the ring. Benavidez is 100 percent certain he will win, and by violent KO. Plant is equally as confident of victory.
But how do the experts see it? In what is bad news for Plant, of the 21 experts asked by RingTV.com to give their prediction on the fight, not one has gone for Plant. 20 experts are picking Benavidez to get the win, with 14 of these experts picking Benavidez by either KO or TKO. Only one person, this being current super middleweight contender Christiam Mbilli, who is “undecided,” failed to pick Plant when asked for a pick on the fight.
Interestingly, quite a few experts are picking Benavidez by late stoppage; with TKO 10 coming up no less than four times, and with a couple of experts picking Benavidez to get Plant out of there in round 11. Five experts feel Saturday’s fight will go all the way, with Benavidez getting the decision victory.
So are all these people correct, does Plant have a chance to make the fight competitive but not of actually winning? Plant, a mentally strong guy, has overcome the odds before now, but never in such a big and crucial fight, fought on such a big stage.
Plant might be the superior boxer of the two here, yet it’s clear the experts feel Benavidez is the bigger puncher of the two and also the physically stronger man. What everyone seems to agree on is this: Saturday’s fight will be an exciting, tough fight. Tough for Plant mostly.
Experts such as Doug Fischer, Norm Frauenheim, Duke McKenzie, Camille Estephan, Kathy Duva, Bobby Benton, Wayne McCullough and John Scully are picking Benavidez to win, and it’s not often these people are wrong.
It’s up to Plant to prove that he has been underestimated. Can Plant score the upset?
Pick: Benavidez by mid-rounds stoppage win.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSf82ZyjfuM
