Fight Week: David Benavidez, Caleb Plant set for key 168-pound clash

FIGHT WEEK

David Benavidez and Caleb Plant will square off an in important 168-pound pay-per-view fight Saturday in Las Vegas. Also Saturday, Jose Ramirez will face Richard Commey in a battle of 140-pound contenders in Fresno, California.

DAVID BENAVIDEZ (26-0, 23 KOS) VS. CALEB PLANT (22-1, 13 KOS)

• When: Saturday, March 25
• Time: 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
• Where: MGM Grand, Las Vegas
• TV/Stream: Pay-per-view
• Division: Super middleweight (168 pounds)
• At stake: No major titles
• Pound-for-pound ranking: Benavidez, Honorable Mention
• Odds: Benavidez 2½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)

• Also on the card: Cody Crowley vs. Abel Ramos, welterweights; Jesus Ramos vs. Joey Spencer, junior middleweights; Chris Colbert vs. Jose Valenzuela, lightweights
• Prediction: Benavidez KO 10
• Background: Benavidez vs. Plant might be the biggest possible 168-pound fight not involving undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez. Benavidez is 26 but already a two-time super middleweight champ who lost his titles outside the ring, first after testing positive for cocaine and then for missing weight. His missteps certainly haven’t damaged his reputation. The strapping native of Phoenix is one of the most destructive offensive fighters in the world, which many believe makes him a genuine threat to Alvarez. He has stopped his last six opponents, including David Lemieux in his most-recent fight last May. Plant, also a former titleholder, lost his belt to Alvarez by an 11^th-round knockout in November 2021. The athletic, polished techician bounced back to stop former champ Anthony Dirrell with a single left hook in the ninth round last October, restoring whatever luster he lost by falling to the Mexican pound-for-pounder. The Benavidez-Plant winner will be in position to challenge Alvarez, although the champ is scheduled to defend against John Ryder on May 6 and is targeting a rematch with 175-pound beltholder Dmitry Bivol in September.

JOSE RAMIREZ (27-1, 17 KOS) VS. RICHARD COMMEY (30-4-1, 27 KOS)

• When: Saturday, March 25
• Time: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
• Where: Save Mart Arena, Fresno, California
• TV/Stream: ESPN, ESPN+
• Division: Junior welterweight (140 pounds)
• At stake: No major titles
• Pound-for-pound ranking: None
• Odds: Ramirez 6-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)

• Also on the card: Seniesa Estrada vs. Tina Rupprecht, strawweights (for Estrada’s WBA and Rupprecht’s WBC titles); Raymond Muratalla vs. Humberto Galindo, lightweights

• Prediction: Ramirez UD
• Background: The Ramirez-Commey winner will take a significant step toward a shot at a 140-pound title. Ramirez, a former titleholder, lost his two belts to current champ Josh Taylor by a close, but unanimous decision in May 2021. The 2012 U.S. Olympian bounced back by outpointing capable veteran Jose Pedraza the following March, which is the last time he was in the ring. He’s ranked in the Top 7 by all four major sanctioning bodies. The Fresno-area native will be fighting Commey in front of a hometown crowd. Commey, ranked by three organizations, has managed to remain relevant in spite of a poor record the past few years. The hard-punching Ghanaian is 1-2-1 in his last four fights, although the losses have come against elite opponents Teofimo Lopez and Vasiliy Lomachenko. He drew with Pedraza in his most recent fight, last August, which kept his title hopes alive. He hasn’t won a fight since he stopped Jackson Marinez in February 2021, more than two years ago.

ALSO FIGHTING THIS WEEK

THURSDAY

• Christian Mbilli vs. Carlos Gongora, super middleweights, Montreal (ESPN+)

FRIDAY

• Ivan Zucco vs. Germaine Brown, super middleweights, Milan, Italy (ESPN+)

SATURDAY

• Lawrence Okolie vs. David Light, cruiserweights (for Okolie’s WBO title), Manchester, England (no TV in U.S.)