A massive super middleweight bout is now officially set for early 2023 as Caleb Plant and David Benavidez are set to clash. In November, Plant had confirmed reports on his Twitter that he had signed the contract to make the fight happen. The fight was officially announced on Wednesday by Premier Boxing Champions.
The fight will take place March 25 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will air on Showtime pay-per-view. It is a clash of former world champions with both looking to take a step that could possibly lead them directly into another opportunity at world championship gold, with Benavidez’s interim WBC title.
Plant (22-1, 13 KO) is coming off a thunderous Knockout of the Year contender in an October fight with Anthony Dirrell. That win helped Plant rebound from his first career loss, a November 2021 TKO loss to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, a loss which also ended Plant’s nearly three-year run as IBF super middleweight champion.
Benavidez (26-0, 23 KO) is a two-time former WBC super middleweight champion. The only setbacks in his career have come by his own missteps. He lost his WBC title the first time after failing a drug test for cocaine. After winning back the title, he lost the belt ahead of his next fight, failing to make weight ahead of his fight with Roamer Alexis Angulo.
Without a title, top fighters in the division have been able avoid stepping in the ring with Benavidez. The fight with Plant gives Benavidez a big-name opponent and an opportunity to all but force his way into a fight with the likes of undisputed super middleweight champion Alvarez or other top names and work his way back toward a world title.
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