IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Plant 21-0, 12 KOs) retained his title with a lopsided 12 round unanimous decision over his mandatory challenger Caleb Truax (31-5-2, 19 KOs) on Saturday night.
The judges scored the match as follows for Plant:
- 120-108
- 120-108
- 120-108
Truax looked shot, and nothing like the fighter that had beaten James DeGale four years ago in 2017.
Plant methodically wore down #1 IBF Truax, showing how much better he was, but making it boring with his potshots.
The fight took place at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, and it was televised on FOX.
This wasn’t the kind of performance that Plant, 28, needed for him to impress boxing fans and get them excited about a fight between him and WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez next September.
Live results for tonight’s Plant – Truax card from Los Angeles:
Heavyweight prospect Michael Coffie (12-0, 9 KOs) used his size and devastating power to steamroll over the previously undefeated Darmani Rock (17-1, 12 KOs) in stopping him in the third round of a two-knockdown performance.
Coffie, 6’5″, twice put Rock down with left hands. The fight was stopped after the second knockdown at 0:59. You got to give Rock credit for getting up from the first knockdown, as he was badly hurt and looked out on his feet.
In an impressive performance, junior middleweight Joey Spencer (12-0, 9 KOs) dropped Isiah Seldon (14-4-1, 5 KOs) twice in the first round to score a quick stoppage victory. The bout was stopped at the 2:15 mark.
Making his professional debut, light heavyweight Atif Oberlton (1-0, 1 KO) beat Nathan Sharp (4-3, 4 KOs) by a third-round TKO.
Brandyn Lynch (10-1-1, 8 KOs) fought Mark Hernandez (14-4-2, 3 KOs) to an eight-round draw.
Welterweight Rances ‘Kid Blast’ Barthelemy (28-1-1, 14 KOs) discovered the Found of Youth tonight in beating All Rivera (24-4, 18 KOs) by a 10 round unanimous decision. The 34-year-old former 130 and 135-lb world champion Barthelemy won by the following set of scores: 97-93, 99-91, 100-90.
The main fights on the card:
- IBF super-middleweight champion Caleb Plant vs. Caleb Truax
- Heavyweights Michael Coffie vs. Darmani Rock
- Middleweights Joey Spencer vs. Isiah Seldon
IBF 168-lb champion Caleb Plant will be taking care of his IBF mandatory commitment tonight against Caleb Truax at the Shrine Exposition Center, Los Angeles.
This is a must-win fight for the unbeaten Plant (20-0, 12 KOs) because he’s got a unification on the line against WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.
Those two will meet in September if they win their fights. Plant has Truax tonight, whereas Canelo needs to defeat Avni Yildirim and Billy Joe Saunders.
Even if Truax pulls off the unthinkable upset tonight, it’s expected that he’ll be stuck fighting a rematch with Plant, 28, rather than being able to take his IBF title and be the one that faces Alvarez for the undisputed 168lb championship in September.
Truax, 37, needs to reach back and try and recapture the form he showed in 2017 when he pulled off a major upset in defeating IBF super-middleweight champion James DeGale.
That version of Truax would be a handful for Plant, who can be hit and has stamina issues when pressed hard.
Truax’s brief period of career success ended quickly with him losing the rematch with DeGale by a questionable 12 round decision in 2018.
This writer had Truax winning a clear decision against DeGale, but it’s his fault that he came up empty, as he allowed the British fighter to clinch nonstop without fighting through it.
Since that defeat, Truax has fought just three times, beating Fabiano Pena and David Basajjamivule and fighting to a second-round no-decision against Peter Quillin.
What we’ve seen with Truax’s career is that just being inactive is almost as bad as losing because he’s failed to bounce back from a controversial decision loss to DeGale.
If Truax had stayed busy, he would right up there with the top guys, and e might even be a champion. Instead, the interactivity has smothered Truax’s once-promising career.
Although Truax is the underdog tonight, he’s got a chance of winning if he’s able to go after Plant hard from the opening round and not let him have a moment of rest.
We saw what Jose Uzcategui was able to do against Plant when he pressured him hard in the second have of their fight in 2019. Plant can’t handle pressure well, and he definitely stamina problems.