As fight fans may have read by now, super-middleweight contenders/former world champions Caleb Plant and David Benavidez are set to rumble some time next year. Plant took to social media to state how he “made the fight happen.” While Benavidez shot back, writing how Plant “can’t hide from me anymore.”
Also, ESPN has reported that the fight will take place in the first quarter of next year and that the fight will be shown on pay-per-view. No other details, such as venue, have yet been released. But this is a damn fine match-up, one that will almost certainly result in a good action fight. Plant, beaten only by Canelo Alvarez (Alvarez being the man Benavidez really wants to fight), looked great last time out, when he KO’d Anthony Dirrell in brutal fashion, the knockout a KO of the Year candidate. Plant is currently 22-1(13) and the former IBF champ at 168 pounds wants another go at Canelo.
Benavidez, unbeaten at 26-0(23) and a two-time WBC champ at super-middleweight, is coming off a fine performance himself, this his hammering of former champ David Lemieux (who announced his retirement shortly after the heavy defeat he suffered). Both Plant, at age 30, and Benavidez, at age 25, are pretty much at their peak. Credit goes out to both fighters for agreeing to get it on.
But who wins? Talk about a legit 50-50 fight. Both guys can whack, both guys have good skills, both fighters have good experience at world level, and, perhaps most importantly, both guys are hungry for greatness. There seems to be no way this fight turns out to be anything but a fan-friendly affair, while the pre-fight build-up, with two good talkers going at it, should also prove quite tasty.
Wherever this fight is held, and when, it is sure to be a hit with the fans. There are, most of us agree, too many PPV fights on offer these days. This fight is one we will pay for and not grumble one bit upon doing so.
And might the winner, be it Benavidez or Plant, get a shot (a second shot in the case of Plant) at Canelo? Eddie Hearn has said that with an impressive, statement type win, Benavidez may “lure” Canelo into finally agreeing to fight him. There will be plenty for both Benavidez and Plant to shoot for when they collide.
