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Benavidez inflicted a ton of damage over the course of 12 rounds to end the bitter rivalry with Plant After years of bad blood and trash talk, David Benavidez and Caleb Plant finally stepped in the ring to settle their rivalry on Saturday night. After 12 rounds of action, Benavidez had his hand raised by unanimous decision, taking home bragging rights and his WBC interim super middleweight championship. Plant got off to a strong start, utilizing the large ring to stay out of danger and lash out with quick jabs and combinations. In the early rounds, Benavidez was more offensively passive than is his usual style. The patient approach worked out, however, as Benavidez slowly chipped away at Plant before fully taking over the fight starting with a big flurry that hurt Plant in Round 8. Plant may have actually escaped being finished in that round thanks to help from referee Kenny Bayless, who was a source of controversy for most of the fight, issuing several warnings to Benavidez while never warning Plant for excessive clinching. With Plant hurt and Benavidez looking for the finish, Bayless halted the action to allow the referee to check a cut over Plant's eye that was the result of an accidental clash of heads. Given the extra few moments, Plant was able to survive the round, but he never truly got back into the Benavidez took over the fight, he didn't look back, piling up round after round and forcing Plant to be almost totally defensive, leading to final punch stats that saw him land 210 shots to just 91 for Plant. The fighters embraced several times after the fight, also visiting each other's corners. It was a surprising development given both men said ahead of the fight that there was no chance they'd so much as shake hands after the fight.“I know I said we weren't gonna end the beef, but we fought like warriors in the ring, and this guy's a f---ing hell of a fighter,“ Benavidez said. “We gave the fans the best rivalry of the year, the best rivalry of the last five years. ... I hit him with a lot of hard shots. I would talk shit, but I like this guy now, so I don't want to keep it going.“ Plant was also quick to compliment Benavidez after the fight, while also saying that the cut above his eye was not an excuse for the loss. “I take nothing from David. We haven't been the best of friends, but we got in the ring and settled it like men, that's what you're supposed to do,“ Plant said. “When the best get in there with the best, you roll the dice, somebody's going to come up short. I've got in there and rumbled with the best in the world. I haven't ducked nobody, and maybe we can have a rematch in the future. David was the better man tonight and I take nothing from him. Congratulations to him and his family, he's a hell of a fighter.“ By retaining his interim WBC title, Benavidez holds a place as one of undisputed champion Saul “Canelo“ Alvarez's mandatory challengers. Benavidez was quick to say that he wanted his shot at the undisputed champ. “I have a lot of respect for Canelo Alvarez, but he has to give me that shot now,“ Benavidez said. “That's what everyone wants to see. Let's get in the ring in September.“ CBS Sports was with you throughout the entire way on Saturday the live results and highlights below.
