Caleb Plant is in a must-win position with his career on the road after his fight against Trevor McCumby on the undercard of Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
(Credit: Rey Del Rio/Premier Boxing Champions)
With the 32-year-old Plant’s inactivity and two losses in his last three fights, he cannot afford to suffer a loss to McCumby (28-0, 21 KOs) and keep his hopes of a rematch with Canelo alive .
Former IBF super middleweight champion Plant (22-2, 13 KOs) wants to remain a marketable name, but his decision to slow down his career after his big payday against Canelo makes it difficult for him to continue to be one of the top guys in the 168-lb division.
Plant fights McCumby in a 12-round contest for the WBA interim super middleweight title. If Plant wins, he’ll have a partial title that could help him get the rematch with Canelo he’s been hoping for. However, a loss to McCumby would put Plant where it could be difficult to come back from.
If both fighters are beaten on Saturday, Plant will have a good option for a loser-out fight against Berlanga, but Edgar’s management is unlikely to agree to that fight. Berlanga has been closely matched to build his 22-0 record, and they don’t want him facing Plant.
The quickest way for Plant to get back to the top after a loss to McCumby would be to beat Christian Mbilli, Jaime Munguia or Diego Pacheco. If he can beat one of them. he will be in good position for a rematch with Canelo.
“Caleb is wise enough to know that he will have to respect him. Both of these men have a lot to gain, and they have a lot to lose,” Tim Bradley said Probox TV on the Caleb Plant vs Trevor McCumby battle this Saturday night.
Plant is not good enough to overlook McCumby, and I don’t think he has the strength or the youth to assume he will win. The only guy to beat Plant in the last three years is 38-year-old Anthony Dirrell in 2022, and he had a lot of trouble against this fighter.
That was two years ago. If Plant struggled against a 40-year-old Dirrell, McCumby could give him nightmares, especially with an 18-month layoff.
“If Caleb loses this fight, I don’t know where he goes from here. If McCumby loses this fight, he’s going to have to rebuild again. Both of these guys are in their early 30s. It should be a fantastic fight, a more competitive fight than people have given it credit for,” Bradley said.
If Plant can’t get fights against MBilli, Pacheco or Munguia, he will have to look to fighters like Jermall Charlo or Erik Bazinyan. Moving up to 175 for a fight or two will also help Plant as there are plenty of fighters facing him.
“I think there are a lot of good fights for him. He has a name; he is a former champion. He fought both Canelo Alvarez and David Benavidez. He is willing to fight anyone. I think there are a lot of opportunities at this stage of his career. He just needs to get active,” Chris Algieri said of Plant.
