Caleb Plant says Canelo Alvarez hits harder than David Benavidez, but is not at his level in combination punching. Former IBF super middleweight champion Plant (22-2, 13 KOs) lost to both fighters, but was stopped by Canelo in the 11th round in November 2021 and then went the 12-round distance against Benavidez in March 2023.
Benavidez’s power deficit at 175
Based on the results, Benavidez comes up short, but Plant says he doesn’t know who would win if he were to fight Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs). Still, it doesn’t bode well for Benavidez’s future at 175 that Canelo punches harder than him, as he needs to have better power than that if he’s going to compete against top fighters Artur Beterbiev, Dmitry Bivol and Anthony Yarde.
Benavidez will have to reconsider fighting at 175 if he gets destroyed by the winner of the October 12th fight between Beterbiev and Bivol, unless he wants to hang around like a vampire bat waiting for them to retire or get older. With good nutrition, Benavidez can safely return to 168 and continue to dominate smaller opposition with his light heavyweight size.
Benavidez lost most of the first six rounds in his fight against Plant, and the only reason he won is because Caleb stretched out in the second half of the fight.
Plant has always had limited stamina, which cost him in his fights against Benavidez and Canelo. In January 2019, he was fortunate to defeat José Uzcátegui to capture the IBF super middleweight title. Plant faded in that fight and was heavily punished by Uzcategui.
It is by far Plant’s best win in his 10-year professional career. This is not the 37-year-old Anthony Dirrell who was well past his prime when they fought in October 2022.
Canelo hits harder, Benavidez throws better combinations
“Canelo hits harder for one punch. He hits harder than David,” Caleb Plant told the Fight Hub TV YouTube channel, revealing that Canelo Alvarez punches harder than David Benavidez. “David puts them together (punches) not only as Canelo, but most people in boxing. David can put his hands together.
Benavidez slaps a lot with his punches and doesn’t seem to know how to throw straight punches with full force. This could be a sign of hand problems. He mainly focuses on throwing sustained combos, and he’s been able to get away with that style because his opponents are smaller and weaker than him.
He struggled when he fought Oleksandr Gvozdyk last June and got eased by him when he threw combinations. Benavidez took some significant shots from Gvozdyk and looked deflated at the end of the fight.
If it was Artur Beterbiev or David Morrell, the ‘Mexican Monster’ Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) would be in trouble. Benavidez will have to change his fighting style to have a chance to beat the top fighters at 175.
“Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Both have underrated defenses, and they’re sharp,” Plant said when asked who wins between Benavidez and Canelo. “They are both great fighters. There is a difference in styles, but they are both good at what they do. With the Canelo fight, I didn’t have such a good camp. Sometimes things don’t work out that way. No excuses.”
Plant has to have poor camps every time because he gasses if he goes past six rounds. He’s been fighting for too long that it hasn’t been addressed now. Staying for a year and a half will not help Plant.
We will likely see him against Trevor McCumby in their fight next month on September 14th on the undercard of Canelo vs. Edgar Berlanga at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The WBA interim super middleweight title will be on the line for the Plant vs. McCumby fight.
“I had a very good camp with David. “I got sick on the day of the camp, but it was a month out,” Plant said of his fight with Benavidez. “I don’t want to blame my performance on that. It was too far to be like, ‘Oh, I was sick,’ but it had an effect on the camp, but that’s life.
“There were things I could do with Canelo that I couldn’t do with David. I feel like Canelo has more experience and maybe a little more skill because of the experience,” Plant said when asked who wins between Canelo and Benavidez. “I think he hits harder than David. At the same time, there are things that David does better than Canelo, as I mentioned.”
It doesn’t look like Canelo and Benavidez will ever fight, so the comparison between them is pointless. Plant should give his thoughts on a future fight between Benavidez and Beterbiev or Bivol because that is his direction.
“In such a big fight it’s a roll of the dice. There are so many variables that come into play,” Plant said, unable to choose between Canelo and Benavidez.
