FSM Essential Recap: David Benavidez vs Caleb Plant

New FSM Essential Recap: David Benavidez vs Caleb Plant

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A grudge match five years in the making was settled in the fight capital of the world! At the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Caleb Plant faced David Benavidez for the interim WBC super-middleweight title in Las Vegas, Nevada.

David Benavidez vs Caleb Plant took place Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena!

With five years of insults, threats, and verbal attacks on family members,  Saturday night’s main event had plenty of fuel to stoke one of its biggest bouts in recent years. The animosity peaked this weekend as the current interim super-middleweight champion, David “The Mexican Monster” Benavidez entered the ring to face the toughest test of his career, against the former super-middleweight champion, Caleb Plant.

It was time for David Benavidez and Caleb Plant to get it on!

Plant fails to overcome “The Mexican Monster” as Benavidez gets the unanimous decision

David Benavidez vs Caleb Plant was an action-packed fight!

After years of animosity, the grudge match at super-middleweight was settled as David Benavidez (27-0-0) claimed the victory over the division’s former champion, Caleb Plant (22-2-0).

The bad blood began after a 2018 altercation inside a Las Vegas boxing gym took place between Plant and Benavidez. From there, the two super-middleweights exchanged verbal attacks and comments on family members while they rose in the sport.

Benavidez became the youngest champion in the history of the division when he won the title in 2017, but lost the title after two-separate incidents outside the ring. Plant claimed the title in 2019 and eventually had the opportunity to face one of the best fighters in history, Saul “Canelo” Alverez. Plant would ultimately lose the bout as Canelo claimed his title and became the first-ever undisputed super-middleweight champion.

 

The two former champions failed to cross paths for half a decade following their altercation in 2018, but once the contracts were signed and both men entered the ring on Saturday night, the case could be made that the fight was worth the wait.

 

The fight began with Plant quickly implementing his game plan. Facing a knockout artist with 23 knockout finishes on his record, Plant was diligent to use his footwork to move around the ring and throw punches from multiple angles in order to avoid the power of Benavidez. This strategy was effective through the first four rounds of the fight, as Plant successfully moved throughout the ring and clinched up his opponent, making it difficult for Benavidez to land any power punches.

Plant seemed to have the fight under control, as his speed and footwork made it difficult for Benavidez to find his rhythm. But after landing a big shot to the body of Plant in the fourth round, “The Mexican Monster” began to take over.

Benavidez had looked for his opportunity to use his aggression through the first four rounds. The 26-year-old boxer was consistently walking his opponent back against the ropes, but was unable to capitalize on the position as Plant continued to wrap him up and prevent him from using his power. It was in the sixth round that Benavidez found the answer to this problem.

As Plant continued to force him into the clinch, Benavidez began throwing strong hooks to the head and caused enough damage for Plant to bail out of his attempts to wrap up. From there, Benavidez found his momentum and began landing big shots that rattled Plant. Without the option to force his opponent into the clinch, Plant was forced to stand toe-to-toe with Benavidez. 

As the fight progressed into the later rounds, Benavidez began to take over. “The Mexican Monster” prevented Plant from moving and clinching, and forced the 30-year-old former champ to take bone-shattering shots. As Benavidez continued to land his punches, Plant began to slow down and was unable to move throughout the ring with the same finesse he had at the beginning of the fight.

 

Going into the final three rounds, Benavidez was looking to end the fight early. Unable to avoid the power shots, Plant was stagnant as Benavidez was able to easily walk his opponent down and deliver damaging shots to the head. But despite Benavidez’s best shots, Plant showed real heart and managed to stay off the canvas, remaining in the fight until the final bell of the 12th round.

As the fight went to a decision, all three judges scored the fight in favor of Benavidez, keeping the interim champ undefeated with his 27th career victory.

After losing the title over his own actions outside of the boxing ring, David Benavidez seems to have gotten back on track. With his victory over Caleb Plant on Saturday night, “The Mexican Monster” seems poised to make his mark on the sport of boxing, and possibly take on the greatest challenge the sport has to offer.

With an undefeated record and a victory over one of the best fighters in the division, Benavidez is in line to be the next man up to dance with the reaper, as he looks to take on the current undisputed super-middleweight champion and the current face of boxing, Saul “Canelo” Alverez.

Boxing needed a fight like David Benavidez vs Caleb Plant

Check out franchisesportsmedia.com for all your latest combat sports news and events. Be sure also to tune in every week to The Main Event as Griffin Kemp and Kalani Lua provide the latest updates in MMA/Boxing.

 

-Griffin Kemp – Franchise Sports Media

Follow Griffin on Twitter – @Griffinkemp51

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