After years of trash talk and bad blood, when David Benavidez and Caleb Plant stepped into the ring to settle their differences, neither had any interest in touching gloves.
But when Sunday’s [AEDT] brutal 12-round war was over, there was mutual respect as the two embraced. In the end though, there could only be one winner.
And it was Benavidez (27-0) who came out on top in the biggest challenge of his career, remaining undefeated in a unanimous decision victory (115-113, 116-112, 117-111).
With the win, Benavidez now holds the interim WBC super middleweight title and a spot as mandatory challenger to undisputed champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.
It was a gutsy performance from Plant, who controlled the fight early before Benavidez started to really close the distance and land power shots in the later rounds.
The fight was not without controversy though, with referee Kenny Bayless criticised for inconsistency in holding calls along with a particularly contentious stoppage in the eighth round.
“He didn’t give Caleb Plant no warnings the whole fight but it is what it is,” Benavidez, who also respectfully called out Alvarez, said post-fight.
“I have a lot of respect for Canelo Alvarez but he has to give me that shot now.
“That’s what everybody wants to see in September. … I don’t think he’s trying to avoid me, I just believe he has a lot of options.”
Both Benavidez and Plant spent the first round trying to feel each other out, with the latter working to establish the jab early.
The jab was a key weapon for Plant in disrupting Benavidez’s rhythm and even though there weren’t any significant shots in the opening round, he was the more active of the two as a result.
Benavidez cleverly didn’t try anything too crazy early, although he could have benefited from using the jab to set up some of those more powerful shots he is known for.
Plant was doing just that as he used the job to score with a strong dig to the body, frustrating Benavidez while also keeping his distance.
The fight started to open up more in the third round for Benavidez, who became more active with a few hooks to the body as he drew closer to Plant.
Gomez Jr launches Giles at Weigh in | 02:01
It was definitely Benavidez’s best round of the fight, although even still by the end of the third he only had thrown 27 jabs, which Al Bernstein said in commentary was still “too little”.
The fourth round was also closely contested, with Benavidez again continuing to close the distance and finding success early as he landed a double left hook and a body punch.
“He’s closing the gap better than in the other rounds,” Abner Mares said, although Plant had plenty of moments of his own, including a big left hand and flurry of punches late.
It was quickly becoming as much a mental battle as a physical one for Benavidez, with Plant still controlling the fight well with his jab and movement while also pushing the boundaries when holding. Although the commentators believed at times Plant was taking it too far.
“That’s as blatant as it gets,” one said.
Referee Bayless agreed too as Plant was given a warning late in the sixth round, while Benavidez landed some good shots and picked up the space in the period.
Benavidez had a positive start to the seventh, working the body and landing a left hook as he started to unload some of those power shots.
Billy Dib winning fight of his life | 04:23
But Plant fired back with a shot of his own, landing a left hand that split the guard and had Benavidez backing up towards the ropes.
Round eight though was when the fight really started to turn in Benavidez’s favour — and when the crowd started to turn on referee Bayless.
Plant did well to stay on his feet after Benavidez walked him down and landed some huge shots that split his rival open.
But Benavidez was warned by referee Bayless for holding, with the commentary team incensed at the inconsistency after Plant was seemingly given greater leniency earlier in the fight.
“This is outrageous,” one of the commentators said, while another described it as “wrong”.
There was more controversy then when Bayless stopped the fight just as Benavidez was really starting to cause some damage, going to check a Plant cut in the middle of the eighth.
“Look at all that time he gave Plant to recuperate,” Mares said.
It seemed to be a matter of how long Plant would last as Benavidez continued to unload with a flurry of head shots in the 10th round.
But Plant again was holding on, with little to no warning from Bayless, gifting him valuable time to recover and try stay in the fight.
Plant was able to do just that, although it was still clearly Benavidez’s fight as the latter rounds drew to a close.
“This round is just a beatdown for Plant,” Mares said.
And in the end Plant somehow would last the distance, taking the fight to the judges’ scorecards — with Benavidez the worthy winner.