David Benavidez Defeats Caleb Plant in Hard Hitting Super Middleweight Bout in Las Vegas

David Benavidez Defeats Caleb Plant in Hard Hitting Super Middleweight Bout in Las Vegas

Byron Pillay
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:29 PM
  • David Benavidez defended his WBA Interim Super Middleweight against Caleb Plant in Las Vegas
  • Plant and Benavidez were bitter rivals before their bout but showed respect for each other afterwards
  • Benavidez has now set his sights on Canelo Alvarez as he remained undefeated after 27 fights

David Benavidez is still undefeated after 27 fights in his professional career.

The Mexican Monster retained his WBA Interim Super Middleweight title as he beat Caleb Plant by unanimous decision.

David Benavidez, Defeats, Caleb Plant, Hard Hitting, Super Middleweight, Bout, Las Vegas, Sport, World, Boxing
David Benavidez retained his WBC Super Middleweight title as he beat Caleb Plant in Las Vegas. Image: Steve Marcus
Source: Getty Images

There was no love lost between Benavidez and Plant and the two middleweights settled their differences in a 12-round action-packed bout in Las Vegas.

The duo traded words in the build-up to their fight, and the bout itself lived up to the hype.

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Plant controlled the opening rounds of the fight, using his seed to stay out of the way of any big shots. He landed his own as he kept Benavidez at bay.

The Mexican Monster started to work his way back into the fight in the latter rounds, with rounds seven and eight proving to be quite successful for him.

Benavidez takes control

Benavidez started to walk down Plant, landing some big shots which rocked the former middleweight champion. Plant’s face bore a lot of damage by the end of the ninth, but his control of the opening rounds meant that the fight was still pretty even.

The tenth round saw both fighters start to trade big blows, but it was Benavidez who seemed to land the better of the shots. Benavidez still looked fresh as he piled on the pressure and landed shot after shot.

Going into the 11th round, Benavidez landed 10 body shots to Plant’s one. The dominance was taking its toll as Plant lost the speed and movement that helped him win the early rounds.

Benavidez continued to land his left hook in the 11th, doing more damage to Plant.

Heading into the 12th and final round, both men left it all on the line as they pushed for victory. Plant still landed shots, but they seemed to have little effect on the undefeated Benavidez. Both men threw haymakers in the final seconds of the fight as the bout went to the judges’ scorecards.

Despite their intense rivalry, both men embraced after the final bell, as they paid respect to each other after the action-packed bout.

The judges scored it 115-113, 116-112 and 117-111 to the winner and still undefeated Benavidez. The Mexican Monster retained his WBA Interim Super Middleweight title.

During his post-match interview, Benavidez set his sights on Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez. Canelo is the current IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO and The Ring Super Middleweight champion.

Canelo Alvarez honoured with statue

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez is one of Mexico’s greatest boxers, and he will now forever be immortalised in his hometown of Juanacatlan in Mexico.

The Super Middleweight champion was honoured by his hometown, as they erected a giant statue of him on the boardwalk of the municipality of Jalisco.

The two-and-a-half-metre statue is made of bronze with a base of quarry and silver, Sports Brief reported.

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Byron Pillay photo
Byron Pillay
Byron Pillay is a sports writer and Head of the Department at Sports Brief (joined in 2022) with over 10 years of experience in community journalism and a degree in journalism from Caxton's Cadet School.
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