David Benavidez makes Canelo vs. Plant prediction

David Benavidez is picking Canelo Alvarez to defeat Caleb Plant by a late knockout in their undisputed super middleweight fight on November 6th.

The former two-time WBC 168-lb champion Benavidez believes it will be a more challenging fight than people expect it to be for Canelo (56-1-2, 38 KOs) in the early rounds against Plant (21-0, 12 KOs).

Benavidez expects Plant to gas out early after three rounds and then start having problems with Canelo’s ability to cut off the ring on him. If Plant had more power, he could keep Canelo off him, says Benavidez, but he’s not much of a puncher.

Benavidez notes that Plant’s KO percentage is close to 50%, which isn’t good.  It means he’s going to have Canelo walking him down the entire fight, showing no fear of his power because he doesn’t hit hard enough.

WBA/WBC/WBO 168-lb champion Canelo will be fighting IBF champion Plant for the undisputed championship on November 6th at the MGM  Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

This is a fight that Benavidez will be eagerly watching because he’s facing Jose Uzcategui in an IBF/WBC super middleweight title eliminator next month on November 13th. If Benavidez wins that fight, he’ll be mandatory for the Canelo vs. Plant fight winner.

Benavidez says Canelo is next

“Canelo Alvarez has had years and years of experience over me, and he’s been in the big fights,” said David Benavidez to Fighthype. “So for me, everything has been perfect with the way it’s happened.

“I’m not saying it’s a good thing that my belt got taken away,” Benavidez continued. “It gave me a few more fights to get ready for Canelo Alvarez. I’ve never been in the ring with someone like Canelo, but the next best thing against Canelo is having experience.

“I’ve had three fights with hard hitters, guys that are fast. I think that’s what’s going to prepare me for Canelo Alvarez, having the experience.

“And now I got another tough guy [Jose Uzcategui] and go in there and do what I said I was going to do in knocking Uzcategui out, knocking out a fighter that nobody has ever knocked out, that’s going to add to my confidence and the experience that I’m going to get.

“If I fight Canelo Alvarez, it’s going to be in front of a big crowd too. This is going to be my first fight in front of a really big crowd for myself. That’s what I’m saying. All the experience goes to it.

“Yeah, I feel like Canelo Alvarez is next. Canelo Alvarez or Caleb Plant. You can never count out a fighter until the fight is fought,” said Benavidez.

David’s fight with Jose Uzcategui on November 13th is an IBF/WBC 168-lb title eliminator. If Benavidez wins, he’ll be mandatory for the Canelo vs. Plant fight winner with two of their belts.

Plant would probably fight Benavidez if push came to shove, but I can’t see Canelo doing it. Alvarez will likely vacate his titles if he beats Plant and then go in another direction with his career towards a soft target.

Canelo’s trainer Eddy Reynoso will have input on who he faces next. He likes the idea of a fight with Jermall Charlo, and he would likely give the green light to Canelo facing welterweight Errol Spence Jr. if he’s recovered from his eye injury and willing to come up to 168 to fight him.

Plant will give Canelo a hard fight

“I think this fight is going to be a better fight than people expected it to be,” said Benavidez about the Canelo vs. Plant fight on November 6th.

“A lot of people think Canelo is just going to run through Caleb Plant, but I feel like there’s so much at stake. That’s what makes great fighters great.

“I’m not saying that’s me calling Caleb Plant great or anything, but sometimes a situation brings out the best in you. But I think the best is going to come out of in for three or four rounds.

“The reason why I think Caleb Plant can’t beat Canelo Alvarez is because he doesn’t have the power to keep Canelo off of him. He’s [Plant] had 21 fights with 11 or 12 knockouts. It’s basically a 50% KO ratio.

“You need to be a hard hitter to keep Canelo off you because he’s going to be coming back and forth and coming at you all night, as you saw with Billy Joe Saunders when he fought Billy Joe Saunders.

“It was a good fight for the first couple of rounds, but then Canelo ended up cutting the distance, cutting the ring, and ended up finding that uppercut to the orbital bone that he broke.

“I feel it’s going to be the exact same fight,” said Benavidez about Canelo vs. Plant. “Caleb Plant is going to frustrate him the first couple of rounds, but then Canelo is going to come up strong.

“I’m a fan of boxing, and I’m excited to see the fight too.  I’m not biased when it comes to boxing. I love boxing, but you’ve got to look at it in that sense. Canelo is a great finisher. He throws great body shots and great combinations.

“Caleb Plant tends to gas out towards the second half of the fights, and he starts getting caught with shots that he shouldn’t get caught with towards the end of the fights.

“But it’s going to be a good fight. I’m really excited about it. I feel Canelo is going to win. Canelo by stoppage or a one-sided victory for sure,” said Benavidez.

Plant will give Canelo a hard fight for longer than three rounds. Benavidez might be blinded by his dislike for Plant when it comes to predicting his fight with Canelo, as he’s undoubtedly going to make it challenging into the later rounds.

The only time Plant gassed out in his career was against the 6’1″ Jose Uzcategui in 2019, and that was late in the fight in the 10th round.

Before then, Plant was dominating Uzcategui, dropping him in rounds two and four. Where Plant started to have problems was when he suffered a cut over his right eye.

When Plant got cut, he was fighting with obscured vision in one eye, which made it harder for him.

Uzcategui blocking Benavidez’s path to Canelo

“I’m in a great position now because a lot of people have been calling for the fight,  me and Canelo Alvarez because they know that I have the power to keep Canelo off of me,” Benavidez said.  “I have the speed,  I have the jab, and  I have the youth. This is everything I’ve worked for.

“Basically, once I get past Uzcategui, 21 years of boxing, basically I’ve been boxing my whole life, and it’s going to show out in one moment there.

“That is what makes me very excited, especially when I think about what I’ve been through, what me and my family have been through.

“21 years of boxing, I can show that I’m the best super middleweight in the world in one night.  So that’s what keeps me going, and I’ve very excited for it, whatever comes next,” said Benavidez.

I’m not so sure that Benavidez will get the fight that he’s craving against Canelo by defeating Uzcategui.

Canelo’s promoter Eddie Hearn has talked of him moving up to 175 to go after the champions in that weight class after Plant.

In a recent interview, Canelo said he preferred to fight Jermall Charlo over Benavidez.

If Canelo is volunteering that information in interviews, then he’s certainly not thinking of going in the direction of Benavidez in his next fight.

Benavidez sees what he wants to see right now when it comes to Canelo, and he’s not going to be disappointed his dreams of a match against him fail to happen.

Canelo knows how tough of a fight Benavidez would be for him, which is why he’s ignored him all these years.

He knows what might happen if he were to face the 24-year-old Benavidez, so that’s why he’s playing it safe against fighters like Avni Yildirim. Callum Smith, Plant, Rocky Fielding, and Billy Joe Saunders.