Every Thursday here at FightHype, I pull out my gigantic, bulbous, bulging sack and give truth-minded boxing fans a gander. This week, I shoot ropes of truth all over comments/questions regarding Benavidez-Plant, the proliferation of pay-per-view, and more.
Benavidez-Plant Revisited
Hi Paul.
I hope you enjoyed the Benavidez fight, I did. It was a good display as we saw Caleb Plant be brave during the last rounds by infighting Benavidez and making a dramatic ending out of it.
I had Caleb winning the first 5 rounds easily, people complained about the holding, but this was expected as Benavidez was the bigger man. Caleb had to slow down the rhythm of the fight as he knew his deficiencies as a fighter (he winds down as fight progresses).
OK, enough of Caleb. Lets now focus on what David did well. I gotta give him credit because he started to figure when and where he needed to punch when he realized he was not cutting the ring effectively. The guy is massively big and I think people focus on his combination punching and sometimes ignore that he packs a punch.
You might not agree with me, but this is where arguments become healthy between boxing enthusiasts. Prior this fight, I thought Canelo-Benavidez was a 35-65 fight. Now I learned Benavidez can adjust but he can also be outboxed. At the same time, I saw Caleb Plant digging too much into David's long/unprotected midsection which is why I upped the odds to 50-50. Sadly, Plant did not have the power to bother David with these shots, but Canelo does :).
I am glad Benavidez and Plant have concluded their beef. It is noble when we see fighters embrace after a fight and end their feud. I admire Benavidez because during his interview he apologized to the fans about being a d**ck during the press conferences. At the end of the day, they are heroes to some of us and to some kids. I am glad they take these kind of attitudes.
I did not even mind watching JC Ramirez’s irrelevant fight. He did what he was supposed to do, but I am glad I read that Catterall and Prograis is being negotiated. It is a smart strategy when 2 dark horses from a division realize that the best bet they can make is fighting eachother. This is a 50-50 fight if you ask me, unless you saw some sort of progress from the Prograis that fought Taylor vs the one who fought Zepeda.
Final thoughts...Supposedly, Charlo was supposed to be at the Benavidez-Plant fight to explore the winner, but now that Benavidez showed his arsenal, he declared he is looking to fight Boo Boo Andrade. Hopefully, Andrade sends his mediocre fighting resume into retirement.
Best Regards,
– Miguel
Hey Miguel.
It was a good night of boxing. I touched on many of the specifics in this past Monday’s Notes from the Boxing Underground column. Benavidez is more than just a pressure fighter. His size, accuracy, strength, and fluidity make him a nightmare of an opponent. The fighter who beats him is going to have an elite-level boxing skill set, as well as some serious pop. And, even then, he’ll have to execute the perfect game plan over the long haul. There are only two names in the division with those attributes-- Canelo Alvarez and David Morrell.
Plant showed a lot of heart and gumption, which was no surprise. He was also employing a sound strategy over the first half of the fight, disrupting Benavidez’s rhythm and nullifying much of what makes Benavidez special. But, unfortunately for him, he just didn’t have the pop to keep Benavidez respectful or the stamina to execute at top level under Benavidez’s pressure. Plant is a curious case. He’s shown the subtle nuance of a highly-skilled stylist/boxer/spoiler. He also has the physical frame and punch mechanics of a fighter who should have more pop in his punch. He should be a consistently high-level boxer-puncher. Yet, he only shows glimpses of both (more of the former than the latter). At 30, his career is not over. I’d like to see him keep working to be all that he can be. I still like his all-around package and his mental toughness.
As for Charlo (or Andrade), wake me up when something happens.
Catterall-Prograis is a good fight and, probably, a must for both since Taylor, Teofimo, and Ramirez are not realistic next-fight options. I think I’m higher on Prograis’ abilities than you are (and lower on Catterall’s). I think that the Taylor who faced Prograis was significantly sharper and more focused than the Taylor who fought Catterall. It was a Taylor at 100% versus a Taylor at 65-70%. Catterall is good, solid, tough but he’s overall not that special. IMO, Prograis beats him decisively.
Benavidez-Plant Revisted (Part 2)
Hi Paul,
First, I would like to thank you for including my questions/comments in last weeks sack. My wife and I were super excited that it made it!
Now about last Saturday night...
That was one of the best top to bottom PPV cards that I have watched in a long time. I was at a party at a friend’s house and after the NCAA tournament we all decide to chip in and purchase it. And it DID NOT disappoint!
In my view, the Benavidez/Plant fight went pretty much how I thought it would go. Except I thought that if it lasted pass 7 rounds DB would have stopped Plant. Personally for me, that was all I needed to see to know that these are two of the top three super middleweights in the division. I think even in the loss, Caleb’s stock didn't drop at all. If Charlo decide to move-up, I think Plant would be a good lead in to the super middleweight division. And I would probably favor Plant based on his last two performances, if he hasn’t taken too much punishment from the Canelo and Benavidez fights. He really gave a good account of himself.
The only other fight I'll comment on is Colbert/Valenzuela. As I watched this fight after chugging a few adult beverages, I was on the bandwagon with the entire party at my friends house that Valenzuela got robbed. But on Sunday morning I watched again. And I know I'm in the minority here, but I gotta tell you, that fight could have gone either way. I think most viewers were skewed by the knockdown in round one.
Anyway, I enjoyed every moment of Saturday night. Can't wait to read your comments on Joshua/Franklin.
Have a great weekend my friend!
Regards.
-- Reggie Cannon
Hey Reggie.
It WAS a good night of boxing.
I’ve already posted my thoughts on Benavidez-Plant above and in this past Monday’s Notes from the Underground column. I was pleased by the performance of both fighters.
As I also wrote Monday, I knew there would be controversy and fan griping if Colbert righted his ship and went the distance. The casual optics, of course, would favor the fighter who dropped his opponent and hurt him a few times along the way. But fights aren’t scored by who hurt who the most. Each round is scored individually, so it could be the case that one fighter wins five rounds where he absolutely dominates and the other fighter wins five rounds where he barely does enough to win-- and that would be a draw. That’s just how scoring works. Colbert-Valenzuela was a close fight. 95-94 in either direction would’ve been right.
As for Joshua-Franklin. I don’t know how much I’ll be writing about it. For me, it’s a pretty “meh” fight and calculated matchmaking from Team Joshua. But Team Joshua hasn’t always been the sharpest bunch of strategists, so maybe we could be in for a surprise. We shall see.
Too Much PPV!
Hey Magno.
85 bucks for Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia? It’s a good fight, don’t get me wrong, but PBC just charged 75 bucks for Benavidez vs. Plant. DAZN got the PPV price tag on Canelo vs. Ryder two weeks after Tank-Garcia and ESPN is putting a PPV price on Haney-Lomachenko two weeks after the Canelo fight. I can’t afford all these PPVs and neither can most fans. It’s too much and it’s hurting the sport. This is why many of us just go to the trusty ol’ firestick services. Count me among the streaming crew now.
– Luis from San Antonio
Hey Luis.
I’ve been on record for a long time as saying that I do not like paywalls or the pay-per-view business model. It’s just not good for the long term growth of the sport when the best of the product is walled off from the casual-curious public. But, unfortunately, pay-per-view is a necessity right now in the current boxing market. With growing fighter purse demands and a shrinking base (at least in the States), the hat needs to be passed to the fans (again) for events to be all-around profitable.
But this necessary business model is, ultimately, self-defeating since walling off content keeps the “casuals,” who have historically made the difference between modestly successful events and blockbusters, from knowing who’s fighting and why it’s important that they’re fighting. Boxing can’t continue to bank on the usual 100-500K fans who are willing to pay for big fights, especially as the base either dies off or gets frustrated enough to go over to the “dark side” of illegal streaming. There has to be a move towards expansion, to reach a point where advertising revenue, alone, is enough to cover costs and ensure reasonable profit for organizers. It was a mistake to take boxing to premium cable channels back in the 80’s rather than fix the issues affecting it’s mainstream marketability-- and it’s a mistake that we’re still opting to pass the hat to the fans rather than address those fundamental issues. We’ve been kicking the can down the road for 40-something years and things have been getting progressively worse for the consumer. As a loyal boxing fan, expect this trend to continue unless the bossmen come up with some real strategy to lower costs and/or grow mainstream exposure.
In the meantime, though, we’re kind of stuck. No pay-per-view means no big fights (or, at least, a long period of nothingness as the pay structure and other business aspects are recalibrated). The bossmen seriously need to have some sort of “meeting of the families” sitdown where boxing business issues are addressed and “rising tide lifts all boats” strategies are employed. This is very unlikely to happen, though. We’d be counting on the same people who got us into this mess and still perpetuate it to get us OUT of it.
Boxing isn’t going to die. Things are just going to get increasingly bad for the consumer, until changes absolutely HAVE to be made.
The State of Boxing, 2023
Hi, Magno.
Wishing you and your loved ones the best.
I really can't complain about the state of boxing in 2023. Like Stephen Espinoza usually states, I focus on the fights that actually get made. As a fan of the sport, I have the responsibility to support and will do so with my wallet when the product is worth it. The media must fulfill their duty by calling out the negatives of the sport. I think that the sport is slowly (very slowly) regulating itself by a combination of various factors such as people only buying quality fights on PPV. Unfortunately, I have to say that piracy has a big say. PPV its not going anywhere, but piracy, neither.
I really enjoyed Benavidez vs Plant, lots of drama and a battle of wills. Hope that Benavidez doesn't fall into the one fight a year club, but that is likely the case as he will be demanding big purses. Look at Wilder, Ruiz, Crawford, Spence, they are all feeling the effects of the low PPV buys, so they have to look into other markets, get into tougher negotiations for a larger split of the revenue, etc. which is not an easy task. It’s their lives in that ring, so can't judge.
As for Wilder, he is walking a very thin line with his accusations of Tyson being a cheater. I am surprised that Fury hasn't threatened with a defamation lawsuit. Wilder is a big personality and when he talks some people listen. If Fury does sue, it will be interesting to see how Wilder can prove that Fury is a cheat.
Take care, by the way, on a side note, based on one of your previous articles, not only do we share the same love for the sport, but we were also born on the same date, March 19,1970.
-- Benjamin
Hey Benjamin.
Well, happy belated birthday. Only the coolest of the cool can have that March 19 birthday...Bruce Willis, Wyatt Earp, me, and you! And I don’t know about you, but 53 is pretty cool.
Boxing needs to address piracy, but as the music industry learned, the key is not so much in enforcement, as it is in establishing a business model that makes internet thievery not so much of a noble consumer cause.
The buzz right now has Benavidez exploring a David Morrell fight next and then banking on a possible Canelo fight after that. Who knows how much of that is true and how much is just internet hot air. Whatever the case, Benavidez is the type of fighter/human being who absolutely needs to stay busy and focused.
I wouldn’t count on a Fury lawsuit. If you notice, very few lawsuits are seen all the way through in boxing. The reason for that is the discovery process and the fact that almost everybody in the sport, at some level, is doing something they don’t want others to know about. If you file a lawsuit, you open yourself up to all kinds of scrutiny and bad attention. Fury, especially, would probably not want his books and doings made available for the world to see.
Got a question (or hate mail) for Magno’s Bulging Mail Sack? The best of the best gets included in the weekly mailbag segment right here at FightHype. Send your stuff here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com.