Benavidez: ‘I have a lot of respect for Canelo, but he has to give me that shot now’

David Benavidez showed that he is a monster, actually, “The Mexican Monster,” as he controlled the second half of the fight and defeated former 168-pound champion Caleb Plant by unanimous decision on Saturday night in the main event at the MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas(Showtime PPV, PBC).

The judges’ final tallies were 117-111, 116-112, and 115-113, all for the winner, Benavidez.

Plant(22-2, 13 KOs) fought well early. He used the big ring to move around and boxed beautifully; he built an early lead on Benavidez. In fact, after six rounds, Plant led on two scorecards and was even on the other.

However, the second half of the fight was all Benavidez.

According to CompuBox, Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) outlanded Plant 51-18 in Rounds 7-9. In Round 10, Benavidez landed 43 punches, the most ever landed on Plant in a round, according to CompuBox. The undefeated two-time super middleweight world champion busted up Plant in those rounds, and he was stalking and landing.

At the end of the night, according to CompuBox, Benavidez held an enormous advantage in power punches landed (180-68).

“I didn’t just show that I was a power puncher tonight,” Benavidez said. “I showed that I had defense and head movement, and I was able to move around the ring and cut the ring off really good.”

After the fight, the animosity between Benavidez and Plant appeared to be gone as both sides hugged up and showed love to one another.

“I know there was a lot said between us, but in the end, we settled this like men,” Benavidez said after the win. “I’m happy we gave the fans the best rivalry of the year or the last five years. I’m just very happy.”

Plant added: “It’s a big rivalry, but that’s what boxing is all about. We came here and settled it like men. I take nothing from David. We haven’t been the best of friends, but we got into the ring, and we settled it like men. That’s what you’re supposed to do. He’s a helluva fighter.”

After the win, Benavidez made it clear who he wanted next, and that’s the undisputed champion at 168 pounds, Canelo Alvarez.

“I just want to tell everyone that I have a lot of respect for Canelo Alvarez, but he has to give me that shot now,” he said. “That’s what everyone wants to see. Let’s make it happen.”

Look, the fight to be made at 168 pounds is against Alvarez. However, Alvarez, who is scheduled to fight John Ryder in May, and might fight Dmitry Bivol in a rematch after that, probably won’t be available, so a more logical fight could be against Jermall Charlo, Demetrius Andrade, or David Morrell Jr. 

However, let’s hope it’s Canelo!