LAS VEGAS – It was contentious. It was surprising. It was ugly. It wasn’t everything David Benavidez thought it would be. Or promised it would be.
But it was a victory, a big one that enhanced his chances at climbing to the top of boxing’s marquee and into its pound-for-pound argument.
He beat Caleb Plant Saturday night, scoring a unanimous decision at the MGM Grand in Showtime pay-per-view bout. But it was neither the beat-down he vowed nor the blood-letting he threatened. Plant survived. His jaw stayed intact. He was still upright after six rounds. He didn’t go to the hospital.
Benavidez had promised to shatter that jaw. He said he would knock him out within six rounds. He promised him a trip to the emergency room.
But, in the end, he hugged Plant. He praised him. Instead of contempt, there were congratulations.
“I would talk shit,” said Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOS), who had talked enough of it to fill a couple of metropolitan sewers. “But I like this guy now.”
It was an astonishing comment. Maybe, peace-on-earth is possible, after all.. Benavidez and Plant had behaved as though they would be enemies until the bitter end. And that’s how the super-middleweight bout — a so-called title eliminator for a shot at undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez — began.
Just seconds before the opening bell echoed throughout a sold out arena, Referee Kenny Bayless ordered them to touch gloves, a gesture of respect. They didn’t.
For the next 12 rounds, however, they were forced to respect each other. Benavidez moved forward, stubbornly and seemingly sure that one of his promises would become reality. But Plant had other ideas and perhaps more resilience than the Phoenix-born fighter expected
.
Plant ( 22-2, 13 KOs) threw body shots and moved around the ring, trying to take advantage of every inch in its 22-by-22 feet of real estate. Benavidez stalked and often mocked. He followed Plant to his corner after the ninth, talking to the back of Plant’s head as if to say the end was near. It wasn’t.
Plant came roaring out of his corner for the 10th, throwing a low blow as a warning shot.
He wasn’t finished. But he was behind on the cards. Tim Ceathham scored it, 115-113. David Moretti had it 116-112. On Steve Weisfeld’s card, it was 117-111. All for Benavidez, whose size and strength were dominant factors over the five six rounds.
“I feel good, my mind’s right,” Plant said. “David is a helluva fighter. It’s a big rivalry but that’s what boxing is all about. We came here and settled it like men. I take nothing from David. We haven’t been the best of friends but we got into the ring and we settled it like men.”
In the super-middleweight division, there’s much more to settle, of course. For the 26-year Benavidez, the victory might represent the beginning of a new stage, especially if Canelo agrees to fight him.
“I just want to tell everyone that I have a lot of respect for Canelo Alvarez but he has to give me that shot now,” he said. “That’s what everyone wants to see. Let’s make it happen.
“I don’t think Canelo is trying to avoid me. I just feel like he has a lot of options. But now the fans are calling for this fight, the legends are calling for this fight, so let’s make it happen.”
Even Caleb Plant would agree.
Cheers welcomed Benvidez, the first to enter the jammed arena. There were boos for Plant, who He wasn;t far from his hometown. He grew up on on the westside of Phoenix. It sounded if a lot.
Third Benevidez beging to cuut off the ring during the round’s finl minute. In the opening
Jesus Ramos wins dominant stoppage
Jesus Ramos moved up the scale, hoping to be a good fit.
For one night, at least, the fit looked to be perfect.
For Ramos (20-0, 16 KOs), the prospects look promising at junior-middleweight.
Ramos, of Casa Grande AZ, dominated Joseph Spencer, forcing his corner to surrender at 1:25 of the seventh round in the final fight Saturday before Showtime’s Pay-Per-View biggie, David Benavidez-versus-Caleb Plant at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.
It didn’t take long for Ramos, a former welterweight and Abel Ramos’ nephew, to show that he’s very comfortable at junior-middleweight. Very dangerous, too
Late in the first round, Ramos threw a short left that landed like the hammer on a pulled trigger. It crashed off Spencer’s chin and sent him crashing onto the canvas. A resilient Spencer (16-1, 10 KOs) , of Fenton Mich., got up. But it also set up the inevitable. Ramos continued to walk down, push around Spencer before his corner told referee Tony Weeks “no mas.”
Chris Colbert gets ups from knockdown to win controversial decision
Jose Valenzuela’s first impression rocked and rolled.
But Chris Colbert survived. Make that thrived.
Colbert got up from a first-round knockdown to win a controversial decision — 95-94 on all three cards — over Valenzuela Saturday night on the Showtime pay-per-view card featuring David Benavidez-versus-Caleb Plant.
A roaring crowd expressed its outrage over the decision from judges Glenn Feldman, Lias Giampa and Don Trella. Colbert stuck his tongue out at the booing fans and Valenzuela, junior-middleweight and Benavidez stablemate.
“You called me a loser,” Colbert screamed at Valenzuela.
An angry Valenzuela then looked at broadcaster Jim Gray as he prepared for an interview in the middle of the ring.
“Who do you think won,?” Valenzuela asked.
“I ask the questions,” Gray said..
There was no question about what happened during the fight’s first few seconds. The opening bell still echoed through the arena when Valenzuela landed a thunderbolt-like left.
Colbert and Valenzuela heard the ref’s instructions.
They touched gloves.
Valenzuela dropped Colbert.
One-two-three, all in one quick sequence.
Looking like the best leftie since Fernando, Valenzuela (12-2, 8 KOs) ducked and came up with a left that Colbert (16-1, 6 KOs) never saw. It was astonishing that Colbert got up. He calls himself Prime Time. He knew there was still some left in the hour glass and prove it repeatedly by coming back with solid shots from the second through the 10th rounds.
He was up and on his feet, fighting back at about the same time former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder walked into the arena and toward his ringside seat.
Cody Crowley win emotional decision in punishing fight with Abel Ramos
Abel Ramos wanted to make a statement.
Instead, he got one.
Cody Crowley delivered it repeatedly with stubborn pressure and wicked uppercuts in a punishing majority decision over Ramos Saturday in the first televised bout on the Showtime pay-per-view card featuring David Benavidez-versus-Caleb Plant at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.
The bout, a WBC title eliminator, was close and somewhat controversial. Crowley (22-0, 9 KOs) was the winner on judge Chris Migliore’s card, 116-112. He he won on Steven Wiesfeld’s card, 11-113. However, judge Tim Cheatham scored it a draw, 115-115.
In the eleventh, it looked as if Ramos (27-6-2, 21 KOs) might have a chance. Ramos, of Casa Grande AZ, landed a short right that buckled Crowley’s knees. Referee Robert Hoyle ruled that Ramos had scored a knockdown. It looked as if the Canadian touched the canvas with a glove as he tried to stay on his feet. But video replay showed that he had not.
The knockdown was overturned from ringside before the 12th and final round. . A punishing victory belonged to Crowley.
An emotional Crowley (22-0, 9 KOs) came into the welterweight title eliminator determined to win one for his late dad, who committed suicide in June. Crowley cried during news conferences when asked about him during news conferences before the welterweight bout.
Crowley was fighting for a lost dad. Fighting for his dad’s memory. And fighting to make a statement against the mental illness that led to his father’s tragic death.
Consider it delivered.
Kevin Gonzalez remained undefeated with a 10-round unanimous decision over Jose Sanmartin in a super bantamweight fight.
Scores were 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93 for Gonzalez, 121.4 lbs of Culican, MEX is 26-0-1. Sanmartin, 121.8 lbs of Barranquilla, COL is 34-7-1.
Orestes Velazquez, a Cuban living in Miami, had advantages in reach, power and energy.
That and more proved to be too much for Argentine Marcelino Lopez (37-3-1, 22 KOs) throughout 10-rounds of junior-welterweight bout, the first on card featuring David Benavidez-Caleb Plant Saturday at the MGM Grand’s Grand Garden Arena.
Velazquez’ long jab dictated the pace as it landed repeatedly, sending echoes throughout a mostly empty arena hours before the main event. Velazquez (7-0, 6 KOs) won easily on all three scorecards –99-91, 97-93, 99-91.