Random thoughts: Benavidez-Plant edition
Ten takes on the Showtime PPV event
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I thoroughly enjoyed the David Benavidez-Caleb Plant Showtime PPV card on Saturday night.
It was good on paper but it exceeded my expectations. In fact, I think from top to bottom it was the best pay-per-view I have seen in a long, long time.
All four bouts on the broadcast were entertaining — three were competitive — and all eight boxers came to fight and gave their best effort.
Here are 10 thoughts on the card:
1. While the main event went pretty much as I had expected with Plant giving Benavidez problems early on with his quick hands, jab and movement to win rounds, it also came as no surprise that once the typically slow-starting Benavidez got into a groove he would take over the fight, which is what he did in the second half. He produced a dominating second half and punished Plant, his best opponent so far, and nearly stopped him en route to a unanimous decision. You have to give credit to Plant for his chin and his great heart. Most other guys would have been out of there in the particularly one-sided 10th and 11th rounds given how much leather Benavidez — who lived up to his “Mexican Monster” nickname — was laying on him.
2. They sold out the MGM Grand Garden Arena and that shows me once again that if you make the fights that fans want to see they will turn out. Even though Benavidez retained the WBC interim super middleweight title, the belt was merely a prop for this fight. Sure, it was important to some degree but nobody was buying a ticket or the PPV because it was a “title fight.” It was a popular fight because it was the best two fighters in the division not named undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez facing each other in an old fashioned grudge match between bitter rivals.