David Benavidez vs Caleb Plant fight verdict and suggested bets

Saturday, March 25, at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas. This 12-round contest is for the WBC interim super middleweight title. Ring walks approximately 4am (Sunday), live on Fite TV.

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This final eliminator for the WBC super middleweight title pits the slugger against the stylist with the slugger, Benavidez, the favourite with the moneymen.

The American-born Benavidez was born to a Mexican father and he has shown all the traits of fighters from that part of the world with an unblemished record (26-0). He also has a knockout ratio of 88.5% and knocked out five of his last six opponents.

The general consensus is that brawn will topple style in Vegas and former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz believes as much.

"I got my money on Benavidez," said Mexican Ruiz when speaking with PBC. "He is just a bigger fighter, a stronger guy, 'The Mexican Monster.'

"Nothing against Caleb, he is a warrior, and we all risk our lives in the ring, but I just feel like Benavidez will be too much."

The Phoenix native was certainly too much for his last opponent David Lemieux, forcing a third-round stoppage in Arizona.

Benavidez was the younger, taller man and although he weighed in just a quarter of a pound heavier than the Canadian, he made his size count from the off.

In an exhilarating start he had his opponent in trouble in the first round with his speed, power and precision coming to the fore. A left hook almost finished Lemieux in the first two minutes.

He then put his opponent on the seat of his pants in the second before a bloodied Lemieux was caught with a short right which buckled his legs and saw him beaten.

Lemieux had an impressive (43-4, 36 KO) record before that defeat and was considered a monster puncher at middleweight; Benadvidez, though, showed him what the power of a super middleweight felt like.

"I just feel I'm the strongest 168-pounder," Benavidez said afterwards. "Nobody can mess with me."

That win in May 2022 came six months after a seventh-round stoppage of Kyrone Davis. That fight exploded in the fourth round with David going toe-to-toe with Benavidez.

Davis' corner threw the towel in during the seventh after seeing the heavy-handed Benavidez bombard their man with every shot possible.

Benavidez, 26, is most definitely heavy handed and he has an unerring knack of landing shots from a range of unconventional angles. Plant (22-1) will need all his skills to stay away from a man, who will have a slight height advantage and two-inch reach advantage.

But the Tennessee slickster has timing on his side, as he showed in his brilliant October knockout of Anthony Dirrell, who had only lost twice previously.

In a rough contest which resembled a wrestling match at times, Plant took a big right hand in the ninth and responded with a huge left hook which landed on the chin of Dirrell and left him out cold.

It was Plant's first fight since losing to Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas in November the previous year. Canelo became the first undisputed world super-middleweight champion with an 11th-round stoppage to unify all four major belts in fewer than 12 months.

The classy Plant was far from disgraced. In fact he fought skillfully and showed true grit to climb off the canvas in the penultimate round after Canelo had downed him with a left hook and uppercut combination.

Plant could not recover, though, and the referee waved off the fight soon after to take his record to 56-1.

Plant, 30, will find himself in a familiar scenario against Benavidez, but he will know that he has already been in with a power puncher and better fighter in Canelo. Many thought Plant, who won the opening round against Canelo, would get blown away, but he stood up well to the Mexican's onslaught and he can do the same again in Vegas.

"Caleb is a good fighter. He was a difficult opponent with a lot of ability and I do respect him," said Canelo after all the bad blood before the contest.

"He was making the fight pretty difficult, but Eddy [Reynoso, trainer] told me to just stick to the gameplan in the last two rounds. In the end, I got him. That's the way it had to finish. He was already hurt and I went for the kill."

Benavidez (1/3) is not the overwhelming favourite Canelo was and Plant fans across the US will fancy 'Sweet Hands' at odds of 5/2.

The fact he almost went the distance with Canelo is proof that Plant has more than one string to his bow and if he can stay in there long enough he might just be able to get to his brutish opponent.