A fight between Caleb Plant and Jermall Charlo has been marinating in the background for quite some time. Charlo, on the shelf dealing with outside-of-the-ring issues he needed to address, has stalled the anticipated matchup. It appears the PBC brass has their eye on matching the co-headliners later this year.
Although neither of the co-main events features a very difficult opponent, the undercard does have some good action for fans to be entertained. The best fight on paper is a nice step-up challenge for rising prospect Yoenli Hernandez, taking on a solid vet in Kyrone Davis. This event on Saturday will be live-streamed on Prime Video.
As a boxing fan, it will be great to see Jermall Charlo back in the ring. Listening to fight week interviews, Jermall is in the process of changing his lifestyle, getting back to being fully focused on boxing. Thomas LaManna is riding a 9-fight winning streak heading into Saturday night. His opposition has been subpar, and the last time he stepped in the ring against a high-level guy in Erislandy Lara, he got starched in round 1. LaManna did win 2 or 3 rounds over a 10-round decision loss to Brian Mendoza and a loss via knockout to Jorge Cota, both in 2020.
LaManna will bring the fight to Charlo, and this boxing podcaster believes Jermall’s claim he will get back to using his jab. An entertaining scrap for as long as it lasts is the most likely outcome. Unless Charlo is too far gone on the downslide, he should win this fight cleanly. His jab, speed, and overall ring IQ will be too much. I could, however, see him working off the rust and taking his time, not just looking for a knockout.
My Official Prediction is Jermall Charlo by mid-to-late stoppage.
Since 2022, Caleb Plant has fought once a year, and on the surface, that’s not all that impressive. In November of 2021, Caleb lost in a fun fight to Canelo Alvarez. The next year, he scored a highlight-reel KO over Anthony Dirrell. In 2023, he gave David Benavidez a run for his money early, only to be overwhelmed in the 2nd half. Last year, Plant and Trevor McCumby put on a banger that saw Caleb hit the canvas. Plant was hurt, no doubt, but he dug deep to earn a 9th-round TKO. So far Caleb has gotten the best of the Charlo beef in public and now he’s just one fight away from meeting Mall in the middle of the ring.
Jose Armando Resendiz made noise by beating a faded name fighter, Jarrett Hurd. Jose did put in a good effort in a TKO loss to Elijah Garcia in his next fight. Those bouts were at or around the 160-pound division; however, Resendiz has fought at super middleweight plenty of times. Caleb isn’t in his 100 percent prime given the punishment he’s taken in recent years. Is the McCumby outing more of a positive for Trevor, who superseded his expectations? Or is it a sign of things to come as far as Caleb Plant being over the hill, or at least approaching that stage of his career? Regardless this boxing junkie thinks Caleb Plant’s outside boxing skills mixed with jabs, pot shots and movement will get him to the Charlo fight.
My Official Prediction is Caleb Plant by Unanimous Decision.
Side Note: Keep an eye on the undercard bouts between Yoenli Hernandez vs. Kyrone Davis and Isaac Lucero vs. Luiz Venezuela. Also, on DAZN, Bektemir Melikuziev vs. Darius Fulghum and Coe vs. Gallegos rematch Friday night.
Written by Chris Carlson, Host/Producer of The Rope A Dope Radio Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker, I-Heart Radio, Amazon Podcasts, Google Podcasts & More! Follow on Twitter @RopeADopeRadio