The bad blood between super middleweights Caleb ‘Sweethands’ Plant 22-1 (13) and David ‘El Bandera Roja’ Benavidez 26-0 (23) continued to boil away ahead of their clash at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 25.
At the recent kick-off press conference for their fight Benavidez challenged Plant to fight him right then and there. The former IBF 168-pound champion shrugged him off.
Benavidez, 26, has promised to knockout Plant in six.
“It sounds good for the cameras. It’s just like at the press conference. He kept saying stuff that sounded good for the cameras,” Plant said to FightHype.
“He kept standing up for the cameras. So what did he do right after? He sat his big fat ass right back down. All these things he’s saying and doing, it sounds good for the cameras.
“I had my hands in my pockets regardless of what he said and how he’s acting because I knew he wasn’t going to do shit because when I popped Jose Jr in the face in the gym – and there were seven of them and three of us – and I came forward like this [with my hands up] and everybody is backing up just staring at me, not doing anything.
“There wasn’t any security there; there wasn’t no camera there. What did David do when I popped his brother in the face? He just stood there looking at me like a big fat pussy, and what did Jose Jr do? Nothing. He just stood there looking at me.
“Then the next day, the gym owner came over and apologised and said they were sorry for acting like a fool. So now we’re in front of all these people, all these cameras, security guards, and now I’m supposed to feel like you’re going to do something now? Come on, man.
“Again, all these antics, all these things he’s saying and rah-rah stuff, that sounds good for the cameras, but we don’t believe none of that. This is a big fight, and it’s going to put me in a position for an even bigger fight [against Canelo Alvarez] to be able to right a wrong.
“So obviously, with everything they’ve had to say about me, it reminds me of everything that Anthony Dirrell said. They ain’t no smarter than to call me a bitch or a pussy. IQ is IQ, I’m carrying that everywhere with me.
The 30-year-old Plant got back in the win column with a highlight reel ninth-round knockout of Anthony Dirrell last October following his 11th round stoppage loss to undisputed super middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez 58-2-2 (39) in November 2021.
Victory over Benavidez will see him claim the interim WBC title and put him in line for a rematch against Mexican superstar Alvarez.
“It don’t matter where I put my feet down, where I leave my feet, this is going to be on top of them,” Plant said. “Again, I’m motivated, I’ve been working hard and it’s going to feel good to get my hand raised on March 25th.”
