Benavidez Vs. Plant: Virtual Trainer’s Roundtable

Today’s virtual trainer’s roundtable, for the upcoming match between David Benavidez and Caleb Plant, brought together four of the top trainers in boxing to discuss the upcoming bout.

Derrick James, Bob Santos, SugarHill Steward and Buddy McGirt were brought in by Showtime Championship Boxing to say their piece while breaking down the action of this highly anticipated super middleweight matchup.

Take a look below at what each of these legendary trainers had to say.

 

SugarHill Steward: 

Steward began by saying that this is one of the biggest possible fights in boxing. Things have gotten personal between these two competitors and that is what excites him, as well as the public, about this match.

He went on to exclaim that if things get emotional in the ring, which they probably will, both will be trying to break each other’s composure and go for the knockout.

The trainer of Tyson Fury also went on to say that if he was in Plant’s corner, he would advise him to use his superior movement, utilize the angles and ultimately frustrate Benavidez over time.

Conversely, he believes that the key to victory for Benavidez would be to cut off the ring and be prepared to keep his distance and avoid the clinch attempts from Plant.

 

Derrick James

James believes that the result will depend on who can implement their strategy best, and things will ultimately come down to fortitude.

Furthermore, he believes that both could have a weakness when it comes to depth and will. He went on to explain that we have never seen either be in a situation of a comeback where they had to pull themselves out of a hole. It is not that he feels it is impossible, it is just unforeseen.

In order for Plant to achieve victory, James says that he will need to avoid standing in front of Benavidez and tie him up when possible.

“If you stand in front of him, it’s going to be a bad day”

 

Bob Santos

Stanos feels that the public would be surprised with how technical of a boxer Benavidez really is. The fights where he walked forward and delivered bombs were planned, in order to advertise himself as an exciting fighter. When it comes down to it, Stanos says that he can really box, stay light on his feet, and utilize his jab.

He went on to say that If Benavidez gets too intense with his level of hatred and looks for the knockout, he could find himself in trouble.

“If you lose your head, you lose your ass”

 

Buddy McGirt 

McGirt believes that this is a fight that boxing desperately needs, and this bout shows that real boxers still go at it. When you see the best fight the best, it brings well deserved interest to the sport.

He also expressed the need for Plant to show Benavidez something different each round in order to not let him establish a rhythm. If Benavidez gets into his groove, it’s going to be a long night.

On the flip side, he says Benavidez needs to control himself, and not just go in the ring and try to gun down his opponent, as Plant’s with have a strategy to counter this.

 

Watch the full stream of the trainer’s round table discussion below (Courtesy of FightHype.com)