David Benavidez Steamrolls Caleb Plant in Unanimous Decision Victory
By Anthony “Stacks” Saldaña
Benavidez vs Plant Fight Night / Photo Credit Showtime Sports
Saturday night in Las Vegas, Nevada boxing fans were treated to an all-out grudge match when the WBC Interim World Super Middleweight Champion David “The Mexican Monster” Benavídez looked to defend his title against Caleb “Sweet Hands” Plant in front of an electric sold-out crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The former IBF Super Middleweight Champion Caleb Plant landed pinpoint jabs early and looked slick defensively but by the 5th round, the pressure of Benavídez began taking a toll on Plant. Showing a ton of courage Plant stayed active displaying a high ring IQ, as the “Mexican Monster” Benavídez was clearly landing the harder more effective punches. In the 12th and final round both fighters left everything in the ring as the crowd went wild before the Judges returned with the scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 117-111 all in favor of David Benavídez. After the fight David stated, “First of all I want to thank this whole beautiful crowd for coming out. You guys made this happen. Second I want to shout out Caleb Plant. I know there was a lot said between us but in the end we settled this like men. He’s a helluva fighter. I’m happy we gave the fans the best rivalry of the year or the last five years. I’m just very happy. He was a tough fighter and we had figure out a way around that. It was a great fight.I knew I had to take it step by step and round by round. Caleb is a tough fighter. He’s not going to give you everything in the first few rounds so you have to find him. But I feel like I didn’t just show that I was a power puncher tonight. I showed that I had defense and head movement and I was able to move around the ring and cut the ring off really good. I hit him with a lot of hard shots. I would talk shit but I like this guy now and I don’t want to keep it going.We were never going to settle it before we got into the ring but we got into the ring and settled it like men. I took his hardest shots and he took my hardest shots and the good thing is that we’re still standing at the end of the day and we can go back to our families.” Caleb Plant who showed all heart told the crowd “I feel good, my mind’s right. 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. That’s what you’re supposed to do. I was trying to hold him when necessary, punch him when necessary, and throw my combinations when necessary. But when the best get in there with the best, you roll the dice and someone is going to come out with their hand raised and someone will come up short. And one thing that I pride myself on is that I roll with the best in the world. I haven’t ducked anyone and maybe we can have a rematch in the future.
Benavidez vs Plant Fight Night
Jesus Ramos drops Joey Spencer / Photos by Showtime Sports
In the Co-main event, unbeaten rising star Jesús “Mono” Ramos (20-0,16 KOs ) dismantled of the formally unbeaten Joey Spencer (16-1, 10 KOs) in a 10-round super welterweight bout. A native of Casa Grande, Arizona, Ramos showed his power early and often as midway through the first round Ramos caught Spencer with a short left hook sending him to the canvas. Ramos continued his brutal assault on Spencer who never found an answer for the effective aggressiveness of Mono. The dominance of Ramos proved to be too much as at the 1:25 mark of round number seven referee Tony Weeks called a halt to the bout at the discretion of Spencer’s corner. “I felt like I looked real good. I showed some angles.” Said Ramos. “After the first round knockdown, I got a little carried away with my power a little bit so I took some time to start working on everything that we practiced in the gym. Ever since the knockdown I was looking for that punch for two or three rounds and my dad told me to box him behind the jab. And I started doing that more and I started to land more shots and started to do better and follow the game plan.”
Jose “El Rayo” drops Chris Colbert in route to a shocking loss / Photos by Showtime Sports
In a true crossroads match-up, two fighters looking to bounce back from their only professional defeat went toe to toe as Jose “El Rayo” Valenzuela (12-2, 8 KOs) battled it out with Chris Colbert (17-1, 6 KOs) of Brooklyn, New York. From the jump the power of Valenzuela was evident as with his first solid punch of the night he floored Colbert with a devastating left cross. Colbert however beat the count and going into the middle rounds began to find his zone. Both Valenzuela and Colbert went back and forth fighting in spurts going into the later rounds. It was after the final bell however that all hell broke loose and the crowd reigned in with boos as all three judges returned with the scores of 95-94 in favor of Chris Colbert. After the fight Colbert stated “You’re a sore loser. You lost. I’d like to thank my opponent. It was a hell of a fight. At the end of the day, I’m not the judge and I’m not a sore loser. I’m a man. I can take it on the chin like a man. He’s a sore loser. I out-boxed him and hit him with more jabs. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a man and he had his spurts. He hit me with some good shots but then he stopped and I jabbed and I jabbed and I jabbed. He got the knockdown but it’s a 10-round fight. Valenzuela who was seemingly upset said “I beat him. I want to thank everyone who came out here to support me. I thought I won. I was hitting him with the harder shots. I dropped him. I dominated. But it’s what it is. It’s boxing. He over-extended and I caught him with a left hook (on the knockdown). He didn’t hurt me once in this fight. I was having fun. I enjoyed every minute of it. I won. I was having fun. I wanted to show the world what I could do. I can box and I can bang. I have defense. I was having fun but that’s what happens when you don’t get him out of there. I felt like I put it on him. Definitely I’d like a rematch. I have to be fair and square. I went through a lot. I worked hard. It was tough and to come out like this – it sucks.”
Cody Crowley gets a Majority Decision victory over Abel Ramos
To kick off the televised PPV card undefeated Cody Crowley (22-0, 9 KOs) of Ontario, Canada entered the ring to battled and defeated Abel Ramos (27-6-2, 21 KOs) who is part of the Ramos boxing family out of Casa Grande, Arizona, which includes his nephew, and rising star Jesús Ramos. At stake a chance to fight for the WBC World Welterweight Title. Early on in this elimination bout, it was a phone booth style fight, with both men throwing punches in bunches, focusing on heavy body shots. By the middle rounds the fight had turned into an all out war with Ramos landing the heavier shots but Crowley applying pressure and outworking Ramos on the inside. Both fighters showed tremendous intestinal fortitude as Crowley took massive counter shots while applying non stop pressure, keeping the back of Ramos pinned to the ropes. Then in the 11th like a thunderbolt it was straight right hand from Ramos that jolted Crowley who was buckled. Referee Robert Hoyle called the stumble by Crowley a knockdown, but in between rounds that decision was overturned by the Nevada State Athletic Commision as the glove of Crowley never touched the canvas. After 12 complete round judges Tim Cheatham scored the fight 114-114, overruled by Chris Migliore and Steve Weisfeld who returned with the scores of 115-113 116-112 in favor of Crowley. He was tougher than I thought.” Stated Crowley after the fight “He’s a veteran for a reason. He’s been in some exciting fights and he knows how to sit down and brace for the shots and he knows how to throw the Hail Mary’s. Hell of a fight. Hats off to Ramos. I prayed for him to have a good sleep so he could come out and have a good performance and I think he slept like a baby last night. When asked about the punch that wobbled him Crowley said “I took a punch straight on the forehead and was off balance. I quickly squatted down and caught myself before the glove touched. I knew it wasn’t a knockdown but they started counting. That’s why we have the review.”
