David Benavidez Vs. Caleb Plant Set For March 25
The winner would get next against Canelo Alvarez.
David Benavidez will finally get a crack at one of the division’s top talents.
Benavidez will reportedly face Caleb Plant on March 25 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. It will be a 168-pound matchup on Showtime pay-per-view.
“You can’t hide from me anymore, I’ll see you soon,” Benavidez wrote on Instagram in November.
“I went and made it happen,” Plant wrote. “Contract signed. See you early next year.”
The bout was first announced in November, which was not too long after Benavidez’s initial fight with Jose Uzcategui was pulled apart because of backlash from fans. The former two-time champion was only taking it as a stay-busy fight since he’s still waiting for a shot at undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.
The winner between Benavidez-Plant would become the mandatory challenger for Alvarez. Both boxers are looking to become champions once again.
Benavidez is a two-time WBC super middleweight champion, but was stripped of the title twice.
In 2018, Benavidez tested positive for cocaine, which got his belt taken away. He won it back with a ninth-round knockout of Anthony Dirrell in 2019, but then was forced to relinquish it again the following year when he failed to make weight.
He most recently dominated former middleweight titleholder David Lemieux with a third-round TKO in May.
Plant previously held the IBF version in 2019 with a unanimous decision win over Uzcategui. He successfully retained it three times before encountering Alvarez, who took his title and became the undisputed champion.
Plant returned to the winning column with a Knockout of the Year contender of Dirrell in October.