Posted on 03/09/2021
By: Hans Themistode
David Benavidez doesn’t like anyone in or around his 168-pound weight class. Over the years, the former two-time super middleweight world champion has had his fair share of public feuds.
Amongst them have been current IBF titlist, Caleb Plant.
Whenever an opportunity to name his most disliked fighter came along, Benavidez (23-0, 20 KOs) wasted no time in naming the Nashville Tennessee native. Recently however, Benavidez has found himself sharing war words with another fighter. The back and forth rhetoric between the pair has now gotten to the point where he has officially usurped Plant as the one fighter Benavidez despises the most.
“The person that I just want to beat the sh*t out of right now is (Jermall) Charlo,” said Benavidez during a recent interview. “He was talking sh*t about me.”
For the Arizona native, he still struggles in his attempt to pinpoint when exactly his issues with Charlo first began. In his opinion, he has always held the surly knockout artist in high regard. Despite his fuzzy memory, Benavidez believes the line of respect was officially crossed. Now, there’s no turning back.
“The way this started off is they would ask me about Charlo cause they were saying he was going to come up to 168,” explained Benavidez. “I never disrespected him, I said it would be a great fight. I’m actually a fan of Charlo I like the way he fights. Stylistically he’s a brawler, I’m a brawler so you get nothing but fireworks at the end.
“I guess he must’ve felt some type of way about it because he was doing an interview and he was just like he would snap my f*cking neck and beat the sh*t out of me,” continued Benavidez. “So I’m like okay mother f*cker, your gonna beat the sh*t out of me? Well, let’s get it then.”
Although Benavidez gets increasingly agitated while discussing Charlo, the former multiple-time belt holder will get a chance to take out his aggression on fringe contender Ronald Ellis. The two are slated to face one another this coming weekend at the Mohegan Sun Casino, in Uncasville Connecticut.
Should he get past Ellis, Benavidez could find himself as the mandatory challenger to unified champion Canelo Alvarez as his showdown with Ellis is a title eliminator.
But while he would love the opportunity to face Alvarez, Benavidez appears to be more fixated in taking on Charlo.
The current WBC middleweight titlist has made his feelings known in terms of facing the acrimonious Benavidez.
In numerous interviews over the past several months, the Houstonian has claimed that he would be moving up to the super middleweight division soon to get his hands on Benavidez. If, however, the former champion can’t wait until he is a full-fledged 168 pounder, then Charlo (31-0, 22 KOs) has offered to take him on at a catchweight instead.
Nevertheless, Benavidez has declined Charlo’s catchweight option and implore’s him to make the move eight pounds north to face him in the ring.
With Charlo replacing Caleb Plant as his number one choice as his next opponent after he faces Ellis, that doesn’t mean that Benavidez has now acquired a soft spot for the IBF champion.
In the perfect world, the 24-year-old would rather face them both. But not over the course of several months but rather on the same night.
“I never disrespected him in any type of way but when you tell me your gonna snap my neck and your gonna f*cking knock me out, well you better keep your word. Now we gotta fight. I’m not gonna have anybody talk to me like that. Him, Caleb Plant, I’ll knock both of them the f*ck out in the same night.”