Notebook: Plant, Benavidez announce they'll finally fight in long-festering showdown

Morrell predicts he'll KO Yerbossynuly; Quick hits; Show and tell

Nov 04, 2022

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Former super middleweight titlist Caleb Plant and current WBC interim titlist David Benavidez don’t care much for each other and have said so publicly time and again. Now they will finally be able to punch each other in the face as their inevitable fight has come together.

Plant and Benavidez, who are both aligned with Premier Boxing Champions, announced via social media on Thursday that will face each other next in what is a marquee fight in the 168-pound division ruled by undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez.

“I went and MADE it happen. Contract signed. See you next year,” Plant posted to his social media along with a mock up of a fight poster.

Benavidez also posted the same poster art to his social media and wrote, “It’s official. Benavidez vs. Plant! You can’t hide from me anymore. I’ll see u soon.”

There is no set site or date for the fight but it figures to happen in the spring. While the fight likely would headline a pay-per-view, it is not yet attached to either of the networks PBC works with, Showtime or Fox, a source told Fight Freaks Unite.

Wherever the bout lands, it’s been a long time coming as the fighters have called each out and traded insults.

After two-time WBC titlist Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs), 25, of Phoenix, knocked out former middleweight titlist David Lemieux in the third round of a one-sided battering in his most recent bout on May 21 to win the vacant WBC interim title in front of a hometown crowd, he called out Plant along with middleweight titlist Jermall Charlo and secondary super middleweight titlist David Morrell, all fellow PBC fighters, who he called “bitches.”

“I’m waiting for them to sign the contract,” Benavidez said of those fighters at the time. “Them bitches know what's up. I’m right here waiting for them. I'll put myself up against everyone. I guarantee I'm knocking everyone out.”

Now, apparently he and Plant have signed to face each other.

Plant (22-1, 13 KOs), 30, of Las Vegas, lost the IBF title by 11th-round knockout to Alvarez in their unification fight for the undisputed crown last Nov. 6 in a major Showtime PPV fight.

Plant bounced back last month when after a lackluster and sloppy eight-plus rounds against former WBC titlist Anthony Dirrell, Plant landed a massive left hook on the chin that knocked Dirrell out cold in the ninth round for a KO of the year contender in the WBC title eliminator that served as the co-feature of the Fox Sports PPV card headlined by the Deontay Wilder-Robert Helenius heavyweight title elimination bout at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Morrell-Yerbossynuly on Showtime

David Morrell, the WBA “regular” super middleweight titlist, channeled his inner Muhammad Ali at Thursday’s pre-fight news conference by not only predicting that he will knock out mandatory challenger Aidos Yerbossynuly but also picking the round — the eighth.

They will fight in the main event of a Premier Boxing Champions tripleheader on Saturday (Showtime, 9:10 p.m. ET) at The Armory in Minneapolis, Cuba native Morrell’s adopted hometown.

“One hundred percent I’m coming for the knockout,” Morrell said. “He’s the one that’s asking for it. It’s going to be for my team and for Cuban boxing. You don’t mess with the people of Cuba.

“I’m excited for my second opportunity fighting on Showtime. I hope he’s not too hungry, because I’m not giving him anything to eat on Saturday night. I’m more focused and locked in than ever thanks to (trainer) Ronnie Shields and my whole team.

“I appreciate Aidos stepping up to this fight, but now it’s time to show what I can do. I’m going to show the rest of the division what’s in store for them. I’m predicting an eighth-round knockout. I’m going to go into the ring as be the best version of myself.”

Morrell (7-0, 6 KOs), 24, a southpaw, who will be making his fourth defense, blew away Kalvin Henderson in the fourth round on June 4 to keep the belt in his Showtime debut, also at The Armory, where Morrell has become an attraction.

“I feel bad for Aidos,” Morrell said. “He has no idea what’s going on and he doesn’t know anything about boxing history. I’m going to teach him on fight night. I’m taking him to school. He has it coming.

“My only focus right now is on Aidos. I’m not paying attention to any other fighters, but I’m going to be ready for them. I want to fight David Benavidez in my next fight. I respect everyone in the division, but I’m hungry for the biggest fights. I want to fight everybody.”

Yerbossynuly (16-0, 11 KOs), 30, of Kazakhstan, who has sparred with undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez, is coming off a 10th-round knockout of Lennox Allen in a September 2021 title elimination bout. Morrell went the 12-round distance with Allen in a 2020 interim title bout.

“I’m a hunter. I like hunting and it’s part of our culture,” said Yerbossynuly, who trained in Las Vegas under the guidance of Kay Koroma. “It’s hunting season right now in Kazakhstan, but I’m here in the United States and I’m here to hunt Morrell on Saturday night and bring that belt home.

“We respect the Cubans and their skills. But in the pros, there aren’t as many good fighters as in the amateurs. Whatever he has learned, I have those same skills. We both have power in both hands, and I’m going to let my fists speak for me. There is nothing about David Morrell Jr. that concerns me.”

There are also two 10-rounders on the telecast:

Former unified junior middleweight titlist Jeison Rosario (23-3-1, 17 KOs), 27, of the Dominican Republic, versus Brian Mendoza (20-2, 14 KOs), 28, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, who moved up the card to replace injured Cuban Yoelvis Gomez (6-0, 5 KOs), in a middleweight fight.
Ukrainian middleweight Fiodor Czerkaszyn (20-0, 13 KOs), 26, against Nathaniel Gallimore (22-5-1, 17 KOs), 34, of Chicago, in the opener.

Pro Boxing Fans appearance

I joined my friends at Pro Boxing Fans to discuss various boxing topics. In part 1, we chatted about the prospect of an Anthony Joshua-Deontay Wilder fight after the recent contact between the camps; the disappointment of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury facing Dereck Chisora for a third time in December; the never-ending saga of Conor Benn’s failed drug tests; and the critical difference between Benn’s failed VADA test that caused his bout with Chris Eubank Jr. to be canceled and Oscar Valdez failing a VADA test but his fight with Robson Conceicao going forward.

Watch part 1 here:

In part 2, we previewed Saturday’s Dmitry Bivol-Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez light heavyweight title fight and discussed the collapse of the negotiations for the Errol Spence Jr.-Terence Crawford undisputed welterweight title fight.

Watch part 2 here:

Quick hits

The rematch being finalized between WBO junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall will take place Feb. 4 and likely at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland, the site of their first bout, multiple sources told Fight Freaks Unite. Taylor (19-0, 13 KOs), 31, of Scotland, won a very controversial decision over Catterall (26-1, 13 KOs), 29, a southpaw from England, in defense of the undisputed title this past February and, stung by the intense criticism, opted to pursue a rematch rather than make mandatory defenses. That resulted in Taylor vacating or being stripped of the other three belts. Taylor will go into the fight with new trainer Joe McNally, who Taylor recently tabbed to replace Ben Davison.

Global Titans announced the undercard for the show headlined by the eight-round exhibition bout between Floyd Mayweather and British YouTube personality Deji Olantunji on Nov. 13 (Integrated Sports PPV, FITE, PPV .com, DAZN PPV, $34.99, 2:30 p.m. ET) at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. In the co-feature, England’s Tommy Fury (8-0, 4 KOs), the half brother of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, will face Puerto Rican Paul Bamba (5-2, 4 KOs) in a six-round light heavyweight fight. Also, women’s junior lightweight contender and two-time world title challenger Delfine Persoon (47-3, 19 KOs), of Belgium, will fight Germany’s Ikram Kerwat (11-3, 5 KOs) in a 10-rounder. Among the other bouts on the broadcast, former pro wrestler Bobby Fish will make his boxing pro debut against Boateng Pempreh (2-3, 2 KOs), of Ghana, in a four-round super middleweight bout.

Show and tell

Larry Holmes, armed with one of the best left jabs in boxing history and an a concrete chin, was one of the greatest heavyweight champions ever and the champion of my childhood. He won the WBC title from Ken Norton in an all-time epic 15-round slugfest in 1978 and would reign until 1983. His reign was the third-longest in history behind only Joe Louis (1937-1949) and Wladimir Klitschko (2006-2015). He made 20 defenses, second all-time behind Louis (25), including a 10th-round knockout of Muhammad Ali in the penultimate fight of Ali’s career. Unfortunately for Holmes, he was in the towering shadow of Ali for years, but became an all-time great despite a lack of fanfare around much of his career. After Holmes moved to 48-0 — within one win of matching Rocky Marciano’s famed 49-0 mark — he lost the title via 15-round decision in his first fight with Michael Spinks in 1985. He would go on to lose to Spinks in an immediate rematch as well as in title challenges against Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Oliver McCall before retiring in 2002 with a record of 69-6 with 44 knockouts.

Holmes, who was born on Nov. 3, 1949, turned 73 on Thursday. Here is his rookie card from the 1982 Panini sticker set from Italy. It is a multi-sport set that includes 15 star boxers of the era, including rookies of Hall of Famers Holmes, Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns, Salvador Sanchez, Wilfredo Gomez, Wilfred Benitez and Matthew Saad Muhammad, and the second card of Roberto Duran.