David Benavidez and Jose Uzcategui will headline on Showtime on November 13, one week after the Showtime pay-per-view return for Canelo Alvarez, who faces Caleb Plant for the undisputed super middleweight championship.
Both Benavidez and Uzcategui want the Canelo-Plant winner, of course, and more than that, they feel the winner of their fight deserves the Canelo-Plant winner. They also agree that Canelo will be that winner.
“I feel like the winner of this fight deserves the Canelo-Plant winner,” Benavidez said. “We’ve definitely put the work in throughout our careers to earn it. I think Canelo has the experience and power that’s going to help him get the victory over Plant.”
“I truly believe that the winner of this fight between me and David deserves to fight the winner of Canelo-Plant,” Uzcategui added. “No doubt about that. As far as that fight goes, I think Canelo is going to win, and he may even knock Plant out in eight or nine rounds.”
Benavidez (24-0, 21 KO) definitely will have fans calling for a matchup with the Canelo-Plant winner if he beats Uzcategui. The 24-year-old is undefeated, a two-time titleholder (losing the belt outside the ring on both occasions), and an exciting fighter. He will also pretty clearly be the No. 2 man at 168 lbs if he beats Uzcategui and Canelo beats Plant.
Uzcategui (31-4, 26 KO) is a somewhat different story. He’s a former titlist, too, but the 30-year-old Venezuelan was soundly beaten by Plant in 2019, and while he’s mostly been off boxing fans’ radar since then, he also lost to Lionell Thompson at the end of 2019, and his three wins since the Plant fight have all been against club fighters. But if he upset Benavidez, he’d have the momentum again. Maybe fans wouldn’t be demanding Canelo-Uzcategui if they both win, but at the same time, who else would there be at 168? John Ryder or David Lemieux? Fedor Chudinov? Carlos Gongora?
Canelo will also have a WBO mandatory due against Zach Parker at some point, it should be noted. Parker also fights Nov. 6, facing Marcus Morrison in England.
Do you think the Benavidez-Uzcategui winner should face the Canelo-Plant winner? Does it depend on which winners win?