Former world champions David Benavidez and Caleb Plant nearly got physical at the press conference in Los Angeles earlier today as the grudge match between the two will take place on March 25th in Las Vegas. The fight will be for the WBC interim super middleweight title, and it headlines the card at the MGM Grand Garden Arena presented by Premier Boxing Champions.

At LA Live, both Benavidez and Plant made statements that got both camps pretty agitated as security at the venue had to separate them on multiple occasions. This is a high stakes bout as it is not only for the interim WBC title at super middleweight, but it could lead to a fight against undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.

For Benavidez (26-0), he gets a chance to go up against someone that he has been looking forward to fighting for years. The two time WBC champion had recent wins over Kyrone Davis and Ronald Ellis in 2021, plus a victory over David Lemieux in 2022 before this fight was presented to him. At this point Benavidez knows the stakes are high for this bout, but he feels that it came at the right time.

“This is the best time this fight could have happened. It was the right move for both of us,” Benavidez said. “I’ve been wanting to fight him for a long time and now the winner of this fight gets to be the mandatory for Canelo Alvarez. I’m super motivated.”

“This is the most important fight of my career to this date. I feel like after this fight, I’m going to pass that threshold and get to where I want to be. Every fighter has one of these grudge matches that brings the best out of them. I don’t like Caleb at all, but I want to thank him for bringing the animal out of me. I’m more motivated than ever.”

Caleb Plant is riding high after a highlight reel knockout win over Anthony Dirrell at the Barclays Center in October. The former IBF champion is trying to become a world champion again, and that means getting past Benavidez and handing him his first loss.

“I’ve been at this level before and I know what it takes,” Plant said. “From now until March 25th it’s just about who can train the hardest and keep their foot on the gas. I’ve fought in Las Vegas before and it’s what every kid who has ever laced up a pair of boxing
gloves dreams of – fighting on the biggest stage at MGM Grand and on pay-per-view.”

Plant has the same thoughts as Benavidez when it comes to how big the fight is, but he is confident that he will come out as the victor.

“This is an incredibly important fight and it’s perfect timing for it to happen. This kind of fight sends a message to all the other fighters that it’s time to step up and take big fights,” Plant said. “This is a legacy fight for me and my team. On March 25, I see myself getting my hand raised.”

The event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena is promoted by TGB Promotions and Sampson Boxing.

Cover photo by Esther Lin of Showtime