David Benavidez vs Caleb Plant: Full Fight Breakdown, Predictions, and Best Bets
Boxing fans, it’s almost time. In just five days we’ll finally be able to witness one of the fights we’ve all been waiting for: David Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs) and Caleb Plant (22-1, 13 KOs) will square off this Saturday night, March 25th, in Las Vegas.
Benavidez will be putting his undefeated record, as well as his WBC interim Super Middleweight Belt, on the line in this bout. Plant, on the other hand, will be looking to wrap a belt around his waist yet again after losing his IBF super middleweight title to none other than Canelo Alvarez.
There’s a ton of bad blood between the two, so the fight is squaring up to be an instant classic–but how does Vegas see it? Let’s take a look at the odds, as per DraftKings Sportsbook.
Benavidez vs Plant Odds
David Benavidez -310
Caleb Plant +240
Total Rounds: O/U 9.5
Benavidez to win by KO/TKO/DQ: -145
Plant to win by KO/TKO/DQ: +650
Benavidez to win by Decision or Technical Decision: +380
Plant to win by Decision or Technical Decision: +450
Benavidez vs Plant Fight Card
Interested in spending your whole night betting on some boxing? Well, here are the other fights you can expect to see on Saturday night:
Cody Crowley vs Abel Ramos, Welterweight
Chris Colbert vs Jose Valenzuela, Lightweight
Jesus Ramos vs Joseph Spencer, Super-Welterweight
David Benavidez vs Caleb Plant, Interim WBC Super-Middleweight Title
When Is Davide Benavidez vs Caleb Plant?
Date: Saturday, March 25
Start time: 9 PM EST
Main Event start time: Approximately 12:00 AM EST (Midnight)
How David Benavidez Could Get It Done
In 2017, Benavidez became the youngest champion in super middleweight history, when at just 21-years-old he beat Rondal Gavril via decision to grab the vacant WBC title. However, Benavidez obviously failed to mature after accomplishing such a feat.
He was stripped of the title twice: once in 2018 after a failed cocaine test, and then once again in 2020 after failing to make weight. This set a huge speedbump in the road of Benavidez, who lost a ton because of his own arrogance.
Had Benavidez been able to hold onto his belt, he would’ve fought Plant years ago, seeing as how Plant won the IBF Super Middleweight belt in 2019. However, since he was beltless, the fight was not made–and to rub salt in the wound, Plant was given a ‘red-panty fight’ against Canelo Alvarez.
That Alvarez fight was Benavidez’s for a long time, but now it looks like it may never happen–but a win over Plant will surely make it more of a reality.
So, it’s fair to say that Benavidez is motivated–but how will that translate over in the ring?
Benavidez has incredible knockout power, no question about it–and with this added motivation, he may come out swinging. Plant is no stranger to brawls, however, and has proven to have a pretty strong chin–but only three men have managed to make it to the final bell with Benavidez, so Plant could be in for a long night.
Plant has also been sure to push each one of Benavidez’s buttons leading up to the fight, so David will surely be emotional. While we’ve seen this work in the opponents favor in the past, giving such a technical striker, like Benavidez, a reason to train harder may, my backfire quicker than you could imagine.
How Caleb Plant Can Win
Don’t let the odds or the loss on Plant’s record fool you–he is an incredible boxer that deserves your respect. He is incredibly quick and has some of the best footwork in all of boxing, so we could very well see him playing matador to Benavidez’s charging-bull style very early.
This is going to sound dumb, but if Plant can keep his distance and avoid getting hit, he has a great chance of winning this one. Plant is as gritty as they come, and he’ll definitely be looking to put that Alvarez loss behind him–and a win over Benavidez would do just that. Heck, it may even earn him a rematch.
One of the most important things to note is how the press conferences have been going. Plant, frankly speaking, has Benavidez on tilt. Benavidez wants to rip his head off– “On March 25, I finally get to put hands on Caleb Plant,” Benavidez stated at the pre-fight press conference. “When you’re on the ground bleeding, you’ll learn how to respect a real fighter. I’m what you want to be. You’re a chump.”
Plant, on the other hand, seems more cool and collected. “We’re both at the top of the division,” Plant stated. “This rivalry only started because we agree to disagree on who’s better. And that’s fine, he should feel like that. That’s how great fighters are supposed to feel. It’s slowly built up over time… I never said David’s a bad fighter because I have no interest in fighting bad fighters. I want to fight good fighters and make big fights. This is the best fight that could be made in the division.”
But will cooler heads prevail? Let's take a look.
Plant vs Benavidez Prediction
If you’ve read my previous boxing breakdowns, you’ll already know where this is going.
My claim to fame was correctly predicting the Dmity Bivol upset of Canelo Alvarez, and I’m going to try and run back history here: Caleb Plant will not only beat David Benavidez on Saturday, but he will embarrass him.
Plant is too quick, too gritty, and too calm to let this one overwhelm him. I’ll take Plant with those odds any day of the week.
