By: Hans Themistode
The crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena rose to its feet as Canelo Alvarez began finding his groove. As Caleb Plant, Alvarez’s opponent this past weekend, began to crumble underneath his power, those inside the arena could feel the end coming.
Before putting closing the show in the 11th round, Alvarez and Plant engaged in a tightly contested contest. Early on, Plant enjoyed plenty of success. The 29-year old’s boxing ability left Alvarez visibly frustrated. But, despite banking several rounds, the power of Alvarez began taking its toll.
In the penultimate round, the Mexican star scored his first knockdown of the night. Shortly after, referee Russell Mora waved off their contest completely as Alvarez registered another concussive knockdown. But while the newly crowned undisputed super middleweight champion stood on the ropes and pounded his chest, David Benavidez sat stoically on his couch from his palatial estate. It’s not that the former two-time super middleweight titlist didn’t enjoy the event, he simply saw the end result coming far before it actually happened.
“What happened was exactly what I predicted,” said Benavidez during an interview with FightHype.com. “I’ve said it time and time before that the people who are going to give Canelo a good fight are the ones with power. You can be defensive all you want but sooner or later you’re going to get caught with a big shot. You got to get him before he gets you.”
With all four major world titles now in Alvarez’s possession, the multiple division champion will now sit back and contemplate his next move, but not before a long rest. Once Alvarez regains the itch to compete again, he’ll have a long list of possible opponents that he could take on next. According to Alvarez’s head trainer Eddy Reynoso, Benavidez, along with WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo and unified light heavyweight titlist Artur Beterbiev is at the top of his list.
More than anything, Benavidez would love the opportunity to take on Alvarez next. And while he acknowledges Alvarez is a great fighter, he also reveals that he has everything in his boxing toolbox to cause serious damage to the four division star.
“I see a lot of potential holes in Canelo’s game and I feel like I can expose it. I feel like I can hurt Canelo, I believe in my punching power. I know he’s strong to but I feel like if I land the right shots, I can hurt him as well.”
Before Benavidez gets too ahead of himself, however, he has business to attend to. The 24-year-old is set to take on fringe contender Kyrone Davis at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona this Saturday night on November 13th.
Though Alvarez is the prize at the top of the mountain, Benavidez knows good and well that a poor showing against Davis can ruin everything.
“Kyrone Davis had a great last fight with Anthony Dirrell so I know he’s a live dog in there. He knows this is a big opportunity in there for him too so we’re taking him very seriously.”