David Benavidez promised he would make Caleb Plant pay and he delivered.
Although he failed to finish the fight in the sixth round, El Monstruo Mexicano scored one of the most important victories of his career by winning a unanimous decision on Saturday night in front of a packed MGM Grand.
Benavidez not only kept a clean record, but he also won the WBC interim super middleweight championship and did not miss the opportunity to challenge Canelo Alvarez again.
"I took the fight round by round. We settled the rivalry like warriors. I have movement, I have a defense. And even though there were a lot of clinches and the referee didn't call out. I showed my quality. I undermined him with my power punches," he said.
Benavidez is known for his slow starts and this time was no exception. For the first five rounds, he let Plant work loose and fell for every single tie-up, but eventually, the punches downstairs paid off and he cut Plant's legs.
From the fifth round onwards, with power punches and he started to undermine Plant and by the ninth round the punishment was too much, but still the former champion's corner decided not to stop the fight and go all the way.
With a lot of pride, but without the material to win, Plant finished the fight on his feet, giving Benavidez the opportunity to show what a monster he really is.
Benavidez improved his record to 27-0 with 23 KO's; while Plant took his second loss in less than two years.
Don't miss all the details and previous results of the fight here.