There was once a time when David Benavidez couldn’t stand Caleb Plant but nowadays, their beef from the past is water under the bridge.

Sine their 2023 super middleweight showdown, Plant, who lost via close unanimous decision, dusted himself off and got back on track with a stoppage win over Trevor McCumby in September of last year.

Earlier this year, however, Plant's career hit another bump in the road.

Jose Armando Resendiz didn’t care that he was a gigantic underdog heading into his matchup with Plant (23-3, 14 KOs) on May 31 at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas. He simply went out there and outworked the former champ, resulting in the biggest win of his career.

Benavidez couldn’t believe what he was watching. After the dust officially cleared and his former rival turned friend came out on the losing end, he chimed in on what he believes went wrong.

“That was shocking, really shocking,” Benavidez admitted to Fight Hub TV during a sit-down interview. “He probably wasn’t hungry for that fight, or probably thought it was going to be an easier fight. If you’re not training hard, best believe the next guy is training hard. I don’t know how he was training, but he probably didn’t take it as serious.”

Had Plant won, he would’ve found himself in another big fight.

Roughly two years ago, in July 2023, the former IBF super middleweight champ had a verbal altercation with Jermall Charlo which turned physical. Ultimately, it resulted in Plant slapping Charlo across the face.

Although it took years to develop, the two appeared one fight away from squaring off. On that same card where he came up short to Resendiz, Charlo (34-0, 23 KOs) took on Thomas LaManna.

The thinking behind them sharing the same card was an end-of-the-year match-up. That, of course, didn’t materialize as Plant didn’t hold up his end of the bargain, though Charlo stopped his man in the sixth round.

As for Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) claiming his former opponent didn’t take Resendiz seriously, only Plant knows whether or not that’s true. But, he has vowed to go back to the drawing board and emerge better than ever. From that standpoint, Benavidez agrees with him.

“I think Caleb Plant is a great fighter; he’ll come back stronger,” Benavidez continued. “He’s a strong dude mentally and physically; he’ll definitely come back.”