David Benavidez will not be fighting Jose Uzcategui in January, as we discussed earlier today, and nobody is shedding any tears over that.
Now, it appears we will be getting Benavidez vs Caleb Plant next, and there’s not a lot more that boxing fans could ask than that in the current landscape at 168 lbs.
Plant announced that he’s signed the contract for the fight, and ESPN.com’s Mike Coppinger reports that Benavidez has also signed for the bout.
The current idea is that Benavidez vs Plant will happen in January, according to Coppinger, though a March date has also been floated out there.
Benavidez (26-0, 23 KO) is the interim WBC titleholder, and in theory could try and force a fight with Canelo Alvarez. But Canelo is also currently sidelined with an injury to his wrist, and more than that, he’s Canelo the super-duper star, and mandatory fights only get ordered if he wants them to get ordered, basically.
Benavidez last fought on May 21, stopping David Lemieux inside of three rounds.
Plant (22-1, 13 KO) is coming off of a vicious one-punch knockout of Anthony Dirrell on Oct. 15, and the former IBF titleholder has said repeatedly that he wants to fight Benavidez. Benavidez has said the same on numerous occasions.
Again, it’s about as good a fight as can be asked for at 168 right now; with Canelo on the sidelines, Benavidez and Plant are probably the two best super middleweights in the game at the moment.
In short, hooray! A good fight.