THE RUNDOWN: DAVID BENAVIDEZ VS. CALEB PLANT

By: Jay Calderon

INTRO: On Saturday, March 25, and the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, and live on pay-per-view, bitter rivals David Benavidez and Caleb Plant will finally look to settle the score. The pair of former Super Middleweight titlists have gone back and forth verbally for years, but are now set to sort out their issues in the squared circle.

Will Benavidez remain perfect as a professional and pick up the biggest win of his career or will Plant hand his fast-handed rival the first loss of his career? What do the numbers say? What sort of form are the fighters in? How do they measure up?

Without much more rambling, let's get into the Tale of the Tape.

-

TALE OF THE TAPE

DAVID BENAVIDEZ || CALEB PLANT

26 - AGE - 30

United States - NATIONALITY - United States

6'2" - HEIGHT - 6"1"

74½" - REACH - 74"

Orthodox - STANCE - Orthodox

Jose Benavidez - TRAINER - Stephen Edwards

NOTES: In terms of dimensions, both stack up fairly well. While Benavidez is just a wee bit bigger, they are both the same height with the same reach, more or less. While there is a difference in age, most would likely argue that both fighters are still in the prime of their careers, though it could be argued Benavidez is entering his own, while Plant is more in the midst of his best days.

Perhaps the most interesting component to these stats would be the head trainer. Benavidez has been trained by his father, Jose, for the duration of his career. Meanwhile, after training with Larry Wade, Plant switched to Stephen Edwards prior to his showdown with Anthony Dirrell last year. One could argue the chemistry between fighter and trainer should be on the side of Team Benavidez.

FIGHT STATS

DAVID BENAVIDEZ || CALEB PLANT

08/17/2013 (W Erasmo Mendoza, 1KO) - DEBUT - 05/10/2014 (W Travis Davidson, 1KO)

26-0-0 (23KOs/88.46%) - RECORD - 22-1-0 (13KOs/56.52%)

118 - TOTAL ROUNDS FOUGHT - 142

4.53 - AVERAGE ROUNDS PER FIGHT - 6.17

10-0-0 (8KOs) - RECORD IN PREVIOUS TEN - 9-1-0 (3KOs)

4-0-0 (3KOs) - CHAMPIONSHIP RECORD - 4-1-0 (2KOs)

NOTES: Roughly speaking, the pair have been active for about the same amount of time and have had the same rate of activity. Interestingly enough, Benavidez, while younger by a decent number of years, has fought a few more times in his career thus far. Their records in title fights is also similar, though Plant does have the loss to Canelo Alvarez in the unification bout from 2021.

What is also clear is who of the two fighters has shown more power in his fights. Plant stops only just a bit more than half of his opponents, and that number has dropped considerably as the competition has gotten better. Meanwhile, Benavidez has continued to stop opponents at the same rate throughout his career.

LAST THREE OPPONENTS

DAVID BENAVIDEZ

W David Lemieux, 3TKO (05/21/2022)

W Kyrone Davis, 7TKO (11/13/2021)

W Ronald Ellis, 11TKO (03/13/2021)

CALEB PLANT

W Anthony Dirrell, 9KO (10/15/2022)

L Canelo Alvarez, 11TKO (11/06/2021)

W Caleb Truax, 12UD (01/30/2021)

NOTES: As has been the case in much of his career Benavidez has been able to stop his most recent opponents. The most impressive win may be over former titlist David Lemieux, whom Benavidez got rid of in under three full frames. After a stretch of inactivity around 2020, David has gotten back into the swing of things as of late.

Plant has been similarly active, though he has the loss to Alvarez and has been in longer, more evenly contested fights. That said, this is in large part due to the competition being tougher for Plant. As an example of that, the three opponents Plant faced most recently have all been champions at different times. Meanwhile, Benavidez has only faced one titlist in his three most recent encounters in the aforementioned Lemieux.

BETTING ODDS

DAVID BENAVIDEZ || CALEB PLANT

-375 - MONEY LINE - +260

-125 - OVER/UNDER: 9.5 - -115

NOTES: Benavidez, due to his unbeaten record and ability to get rid of opponents, is the sizable favorite heading into a bout with the best opponent he has faced as a professional -- at least on paper. While it makes sense, you wouldn't be out of your mind to like the odds you're getting for Plant.

The over under makes a lot of sense to me. It suggests that this fight could end by knockout, but the oddsmakers are hedging their bets (so to speak) by still keeping the betting point relatively high. Still, either side of the fence you fall upon, you are given decent returns on your bet.

BIGGEST QUESTIONS

The biggest question that comes to mind in regards to Benavidez is: Will he have a plan B if his initial ideas don't pan out? Theoretically, you expect him to apply pressure and rely upon his work rate. However, if the defense and movement of Plant holds up, what will Benavidez attempt to get himself back into the fight?

For Plant, one wonders what the Canelo loss has done to his mindset. Does he fold under pressure if Benavidez is able to take him into deep waters and is landing with regularity? You also wonder if he has enough power to keep Benavidez honest. David has been dropped before, but has mostly held up to oncoming shots. Can Plant change the fight with his pop if needed?

-

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed. Feel free to let me know what you think by clicking here. Be sure to check out my prediction for David Benavidez vs. Caleb Plant by clicking here. You can also check out the Fight Preview for Benavidez vs. Plant by clicking here.