Top super middleweights set to meet at MGM Grand in March
Super middleweights David Benavidez and Caleb Plant are set to fight March 25 at the MGM Grand Garden in one of the most tantalizing matchups in the 168-pound division, sources told the Review-Journal on Wednesday.
The matchup will top a Premier Boxing Champions card on Showtime pay-per-view.
An official announcement is expected “very soon,” one source said.
Benavidez (26-0, 23 knockouts) and Plant (22-1, 13 KOs) have been mainstays in a division ruled by undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez and have teased a matchup for years, trading verbal barbs amid respective reigns as WBC and IBF champions.
Benavidez, 26, of Phoenix, was twice the WBC titlist. He was stripped once amid a positive drug test for cocaine and once for missing weight. Plant, 30, a local resident by way of the Nashville, Tennessee, area, lost his IBF crown Nov. 6, 2021, to Alvarez at the MGM Grand Garden.
The fighters employ contrasting styles. Benavidez utilizes aggressive pressure, stopping six consecutive opponents with a thorough offensive arsenal, while Plant is more defensive-oriented, blending an educated jab with fleet feet.
However, Plant scored a knockout victory in his last outing Oct. 15, stopping former champion Anthony Dirrell with a picturesque left hook in his first fight under trainer Stephen Edwards.
The fight caps a robust sporting weekend in Las Vegas that includes the NCAA Tournament West Regional on March 23 and March 25.
The winner maximizes positioning for a prospective fight with Alvarez, who last defended his titles Sept. 17 against Gennady Golovkin at T-Mobile Arena.
Contact Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.