On March 13th, David Benavidez had little to no trouble disposing of Ronald Ellis. That fight secured his spot as the mandatory challenger to face Pound for Pound king Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. It’s a fight that Benavidez has wanted but at the same time so does everyone else in the division. Aside from wanting Canelo, Benavidez has called out Caleb Plant and Jermall Charlo.
Despite having several names in the division, many of those names could not hold a candle to the young former champion. Despite some imperfections in his game Benavidez is skilled and when he is dead set on putting a hurt on someone he seems damn near impossible.
Ishe Smith believes those imperfections Benavidez has are a sign of his age. Over time those imperfections will go away as he matures as a fighter and the only person in the division that could truly end the undefeated streak of Benavidez is Canelo. Plant is too inactive (and is called pillow-fisted a la Malignaggi) to give him any trouble but counter shots are going to be what it takes to get the job done.
“Can’t hold Benavidez short comings against him, he’s still so young” Tweeted Smith. ” [I] Can’t see anyone at 168 beating him besides Canelo. Plant just isn’t active enough in my opinion. That boy throws punches in bunches, but the counter is there. [That’s] how Gavirl dropped him, but when he’s on, he’s on.”
It will be interesting to see what happens in Benavidez’s quest to once again hold the WBC title that he lost on the scales especially with Canelo not really showing any interest in fighting other Mexican fighters.
