Caleb Plant makes his case for being the best at super middleweight!
Well it certainly was not a thrill ride, but Caleb “Sweethands” Plant (21-0, 12 KO’s) did his job. The IBF World Super Middleweight champion successfully defended his belt for the third time against Caleb “Golden” Truax (31-5-2, 19 KO’s). It was a must-win fight for Plant if he wanted to keep his dreams of facing WBA Super and WBC World Super Middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (54-1-2, 36 KO’s) alive. In that regard, it was a very good night for Sweethands.
When in the ring with Truax, it was evident near immediately that Golden had nothing for Plant. The Minnesotan was simply too slow, hesitant and inactive to command any significant portion of action. Given how vulnerable he looked, it was easy to think that Plant would make good on his promise of stopping him. Yet, as the rounds piled on, there was never a time when the IBF champ stepped on the gas.
Rather than blitz him, Plant opted to apply relaxed but steady pressure for twelves rounds. While the performance was near flawless in terms of the damage he took, the dustup itself became rather monotonous. So much so that the industry chatter that says Plant is not ready for Alvarez is bound to get much louder. In the post-fight interview however, the slow-speaking Tennessee native did confess to hurting his hand. He even went so far as to say that he thought it was broken.
THE PLOT THICKENS
If the hand turns out to indeed be broken, it will go a long way to justifying why Plant did not get the stoppage. In his mind however, his mangled mitt has little to do with anything. For his money, he is still top dog of the division and he was not shy about stating this fact.
“I feel like I am the best super middleweight in the world. Whoever is in the way of becoming the first undisputed super middleweight, you line them up and I will knock them down!”
Just a few days before the Plant versus Truax bout took place, it was announced that Canelo had signed on to face “Superb” Billy Joe Saunders (30-0, 14 KO’s). Superb is on Alvarez’s hit list due to his ownership of the WBO World Super Middleweight title. To get to Saunders however, Canelo will have to first best his WBC mandatory challenger Anvi “Mr. Robot” Yildirim (21-2, 12 KO’s). Outside of Yildirim’s coach, cut man and mother, few if any believe that he will defeat the redhead.
The revelation of the Alvarez versus Saunders bout initially sounded like bad news for Plant. This is because, following his bout with Truax, he had a new dilemma on his hands. He would have to decide to either take another bout before Canelo or remain inactive and wait his turn. Now, with his incapacitated hand, perhaps he will use the time to heal and rehab. In either case, Plant will have several months to make his next move.
By: Bakari Simpson
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