Re: David Benavidez v Caleb Plant 3/25
I think plant has the ability to win this fight on his toes. The question is will he... or does he buy into the bad blood and the dirrell KO and stand in front of Benavidaz, trying to prove a point?
Benavidaz is a big kid. He seems a little slow and deliberate, but once he finds you he tries to put a hurting on you. I primarily think this is why the match was made from his side. There's not much you can do to improve a fighters pop aside from the more fundamental form things things. Either a fighter has it or he doesn't. I think Benavidaz's camp is riding on that principle and that they're going to try to recreate the canelo victory only faster, hoping they can goad plant into a nose to nose.. then power and combination punches pile up on plant and he crumples before he did against Canelo. Or else why fight why take this fight.
Plant seems like an alright guy and he's slicker than many people gave him credit for. Still there's two things that concern me. Aside from his lack of pop, he seems to be preoccupied at times with image and validation. That conversation in the ring with Canelo should have never happened. He sounded like a groupie looking for approval. I like that he carried himself with more dignity/ restraint than Canelo at the press conference.. but after the direll fight, the ode to Tito Ortiz was disrespectful and also premeditated because of the rivalry. The word is out, I feel and people are just going to try an rattle him now. No one is afraid of how he comes out after disrespected, just that he's reactionary.
I don't feel like this is the ferrari/ tank thing Martinez vs. Chavez Jr. was... probably more like Japanese tuner vs. Block American muscle car. The muscle cars powerful engine is a detriment to its speed, till it hits you.... which is still something it can do from behind... Calebs a tough kid but I think Benavidez eventually starts taking the body after the head gets too elusive. Maybe this ends with a shot to the liver and a follow up to the head. Or Plant toughs it out and loses on the cards. -- Unless he can put Benavidez on his ass in impressive fashion and give him something to think about early...Plants going to have a hard time keeping him off.
They want your @$$ beat because upsets make news. News brings about excitement, excitement brings about ratings. The objective is to bring you up to the tower and tear your @$$ down. And if you don't believe that, you're crazy.
Roy Jones, Jr. "What I've Learned," Esquire 2003
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