Jose Benavidez Sr Calls for David Benavidez vs Caleb Plant!
When 22 year old David “Red Flag” Benavidez (22-0, 19 KO’s) initially captured the WBC super middleweight strap back on September 9, 2017, he was the youngest person in history to do so.
On September 28, when Benavidez beat Anthony “The Dog” Dirrell (33-2-1, 24 KO’s) to recapture the belt, he became the youngest two-time super middleweight champion in history. Certainly, Team Benavidez is happy with these accomplishments, but they are not complacent.
The last thing they want to do is sit on their hands and admire their handy work. Instead, Benavidez and his crew are determined to keep pushing forward and cementing the Red Flag’s legacy. To do so, they are gunning for the biggest names in the division.
For their money, next in line is IBF super middleweight champion Caleb “Sweet Hands” Plant (19-0, 11 KO’s). Currently, Benavidez and Plant share one of the most visible and openly surly rivalries in the sport.
Not only have they continuously taken shots through the media, the two men have already thrown blows! In a now infamous video clip, Plant, Benavidez and a number of people in their entourage were in a minor brawl following heated words exchanged in the gym. While the two harbor obvious animosity for the other, there has never been a fight scheduled.
For his part, Plant has maintained that he wanted the Phoenix native to re-capture a world title before they would lock horns. According to his line of thinking, Plant wants to unify. Therefore, fighting a beltless Red Flag would be counterproductive. However, with his most recent victory, Benavidez has now been reclassified as the WBC super middleweight champion. With the newly designated status, there is no viable rationale as to why this bout cannot be constructed.
David’s father, and manager, Jose Benavidez Senior recently took the time to comment on the ongoing situation. When discussing a potential prizefight with Sweet Hands, Senior was much more level headed and even complimentary. Not only does Senior want to get his son’s hands on Plants IBF title, he understands the importance of defeating the top level guys in the division.
“If you look at Caleb Plant, we always wanted to fight him. With the belt or without a belt, that’s the fight that we want. That’s the fight that the people want to see, Caleb Plant, you know.
“He is a good fighter, don’t get me wrong. He has a lot of skills but we’re not afraid of him. We want him, we need him! We need him on our resume, you know. I think once he beats Caleb Plant, I think he’s one of the fighters that people really want to see, you know. He is very skillful, you know, he throws a lot of punches.”
For the Red Flag, a win over Plant would be the ultimate multitasking move. If victorious, Benavidez would capture another title, unify, silence a bitter rival and obtain a great deal of more respect within the industry. All of which, Benavidez wants to do as soon as humanly possible.
“We want to fight him you know, does he want to fight? He’s always saying, once you bring David up, is he a champion? Belts don’t matter to me!
“[…] I’m David’s manager and I’m the one that makes those calls. I want Caleb Plant, that’s the fight that we want to get, you know? The sooner the better!”
Only time will tell how this situation ultimately plays out. However, neither man come off as the backing-down type. So, with both belt holders being injury-free and looking at an open schedule, there is an excellent chance that we’ll hear about this fascinating match coming to fruition very soon.
3kingsboxing will certainly stay on top of this red-hot rivalry and report all the latest developments.
“Belt or no belt, you know we want that fight. Now he is going to have a belt, what other is he going to have? I’m here, you know, let’s make that happen! I’m the one to talk too you know?
“Let’s make that fight […] We want that fight! I think he is afraid of David, he doesn’t want to fight David. That’s the thing you know, but he wants to make people believe. Dude, we’re not hiding from nobody you know, we want to fight the best. In order to be the best, you got to fight the best.”
By: Bakari Simpson
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