Super middleweights David Benavidez and Caleb Plant brawl to settle it all

It’s hard to pinpoint when David Benavidez’s dislike of Caleb Plant developed into raging hatred, but it was on full display at the Feb. 2 press conference in Los Angeles that kicked o promotion for their Saturday night fight. The World Boxing Council interim super-middleweight championship is on the line with the victor going on to face Saul “Canelo” Álvarez, but there’s more at stake.

Pride, for one. “The animus between these two guys is real,” said Showtime Sports’ Brian Custer at the opening of the press conference. “And let’s be honest. When you have that kind of hostility, it can produce iconic, great fights.”

Custer compared Benavidez-Plant to Ali-Frazier, Robinson-LaMotta and Leonard-Durán after insisting there was no hyperbole to the hype surrounding the matchup of 168-pound pugilists. As if to validate Custer’s words, both Benavidez and his father José verbally disrespected Plant with extreme belligerence during the latter’s time on the microphone. They peppered Plant with pejoratives that rhyme with “witch” and “wussy” while Plant’s passive-aggressive reference to Benavidez’s failure to pass a drug test was just one triggering transgression that caused “The Mexican Monster” to leap to his feet and attempt to menace his nemesis.

Benavidez proudly embraces the nickname bestowed upon him by Mike Tyson. The undefeated fighter specializes in battering opponents with flurries of combinations developed while training under his father. He became the youngest WBC super-mid-

By MATT KELEMEN

dleweight champion in history at age 20 by defeating Ronald Gavril for the WBC title in a September 2017 split decision. A year later, Benavidez tested positive for cocaine and was stripped of his title.

He returned to the ring in March 2019, two months after Plant won the IBF super middleweight title from José Uzcátegui. The Nashville native defended his title three times before losing it to Álvarez at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in November 2021. Álvarez stalked Plant to neutralize his mobility and fi nally clocked the taller fighter with a left hook and right uppercut in the 11th round.

Plant is game for a rematch and proved his worth by knocking out Anthony Dirrell in October. Benavidez beat David Lemieux in May to take his WBC interim super middleweight title. The match with Plant is his fi rst defense.

Benavidez alleges Plant sucker punched his welterweight brother José Jr. Plant says there were inappropriate social media comments made by the Benavidez camp regarding his deceased daughter Alia. Benavidez expressed his desire, at the press conference, to beat the living (expletive) out of Plant and “put this (expletive) in the hospital.”

Plant purchased davidbenavidez.com and is using it to promote his merchandise.

Someone will walk out of the ring with a belt as well as bragging rights to coming out on top in boxing’s biggest feud of the moment. For both fighters, it’s the most important bout of their lives up until now. Benavidez, in the end, appreciates Plant for bringing out the animal in him, but predicts he’ll stop the fight in round six. Plant would like to prove him wrong.

Rick Springfield is no stranger to Las Vegas, having played everywhere from Fremont Street Experience to Mandalay Bay. He performed at the Aladdin Theatre in the early days of his success, appeared mid-career at Caesars Palace’s Circus Maximus and played the lead in a 2001-’02 theatrical concert production at MGM Grand. He most recently shared the stage with Sammy Hagar during a benefit concert at MGM Grand Garden Arena, but his next shows are at an intimate 900-seat showroom at The STRAT Theater this weekend.

Springfield’s punked-up cover of Hagar’s “I’ve Done Everything for You” was the lead single from the Australian-American’s 1981 breakthrough album Working Class Dog and became a top 10 hit after the explosive success of his No. 1 hit “Jessie’s Girl.” Hagar would figure into Springfield’s life again after launching his own residency at The STRAT.

“I guested with him on one of his shows, and it seemed like a great place to do a residency. ... It’s a great room.” Springfield told Las Vegas Magazine. “If you want to get up close with it nice and loud, it’s the place to be.”

Springfield won a Grammy for “Jessie’s Girl” and would receive nominations for “I Get Excited,” “Don’t Talk to Strangers” and “Affair of the Heart,” all setlist staples for the musician who paid the bills as an actor until landing on the Billboard charts. Working Class Dog and 1982 follow-up Success Hasn’t Spoiled Me Yet came after a decade of determination and disap- pointments, becoming emblematic as examples of ’80s pop production.

The songwriting, chord riffing and attitude were clearly influenced by Elvis Costello. “Elvis was a big influence, certainly,” says Springfield. “Working Class Dog was inspired by the whole punk thing. I was pretty much done with disco, and when punk came out and went back to guitars, it was very inspiring for me.”

Springfield focused on the songwriting of artists such as Costello, The Police and Nick Lowe, and related to the brashness of the punk movement in general. He channeled pent-up frustration and his battle with depression (what he calls “The Darkness”) into a frenetic musical energy that represents a pop music moment in time.

He established his brand in the process, and has alternated between stage, screen and concert venues in the ensuing decades. A 2009 guest role satirizing himself on Californication endeared Springfield to a whole new generation; he held his own starring alongside Meryl Streep in director Jonathan Demme’s final film Ricki and the Flash; and “Jessie’s Girl” keeps popping up in film and TV soundtracks.

8 p.m. March 24-25, starting at $75. ticketmaster.com

Now Springfield’s fans know where to find him on a regular basis. It wouldn’t be surprising if Hagar shows up as a musical guest; the two recently became business partners producing three different flavors of Beach Bar rum, which Springfield says should be available at The STRAT Theater.