Daniel Jacobs Rates David Benavidez The Best and Caleb Plant The Worst Amongst The 168 Pound Champions

Posted on 04/01/2020

By: Hans Themistode

Daniel Jacobs seemed to be enjoying his brief time at his new division. After years of struggling to make the 160 pound limit, Jacobs made the call to move up eight pounds. The results so far have been pretty good. A fifth round stoppage win against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in his last ring appearance.

Although it’s long been proven that Chavez Jr won’t live up to his father’s name, he is still a solid opponent. Jacobs made it look easy when the two faced off on December 20th, at the Talking Stick Resort Arena, in Phoenix Arizona.

With Jacobs no longer having to worry about cutting any extra weight, he feels somewhat free in his new weight class. Still, that doesn’t mean things will be easy.

October 27, 2018; New York, NY, USA; Danny Jacobs and Sergey Derevyanchenko during their bout for the vacant IBF middleweight championship at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing USA

At the moment, the 168 pound division is known as one of the best in all of boxing. With champions such as IBF belt holder Caleb Plant, WBC champion David Benavidez, WBA titlist Callum Smith and WBO champ Billy Joe Saunders, the path to another title won’t be easy for Jacobs. Yet, during a recent FaceTime interview with promoter Eddie Hearn, he did give his opinion on who he believes is the weak link out of that championship bunch.

“To say who’s the best is kinda hard to say. But I would say, I mean, all those guys are top,” Jacobs said. “I would probably put Plant at the bottom of those names that you just named. I think Plant is good, but I think, you know, I think he can be beat. He’s beatable. I see a lot of flaws in his game.”

With just 20 fights under his record, Plant would seem to have the least experience. But many peg him as the best boxer at 168.

With boxers, along with most of the world, having absolutely nothing to do thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic, it shouldn’t take long for Plant to hear what Jacobs feels about him.

The former Middleweight champ doesn’t just have an eye on Plant though, but every single one of the champions. Including the one name he believes is better than the rest.

“As far as Benavidez, he’s probably the strongest that I’ve seen amongst those guys that you just mentioned. But now that I’m coming up to the super middleweight division, it’s interesting. And now these guys have my attention. I’m gonna be studying, looking forward to what’s next, what’s best for me and my career.”