Chris Mannix believes Caleb Plant will face Edgar Berlanga next in the first half of 2026. He states that the former IBF super middleweight champion Plant (23-3, 14 KOs) won’t be fighting a rematch with Jose Armando Resendiz next to try to avenge his loss from May 31.
Mannix adds that Plant won’t be fighting Jermall Charlo right away. That’s a fight that’s been talked about as a payback one for Charlo, who was slapped hard by Plant at the Errol Spence vs. Terence Crawford weigh-in on July 28, 2023.
Rebuilding After a Devastating Loss
“I don’t think it’s next on the hit list of Caleb Plant. I think we’re much more likely to get Caleb Plant-Edgar Berlanga in the first half of 2026,” said commentator Chris Mannix on his channel. “Berlanga’s management has told me they’re trying to get a fight for him in December. It’s probably going to be someone that’s very bad.”
Edgar is going to need a confidence-booster to rebuild his self-confidence following his fifth-round knockout loss to Hamzah Sheeraz on July 12, 2025, in Queens, New York. Berlanga got blown out of the water by Sheeraz, who, before that, had looked terrible in a 12-round draw against WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames on Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season event on February 22nd.
Why Berlanga is the Target
Plant needs to fight Berlanga as soon as possible before he loses again. He’s lost twice in his last three fights since September 2024. If ‘Sweethands’ Plant chooses to fight Jermall Charlo in early 2026, someone may defeat Berlanga before he gets to him.
That would make his record 1-3 in his last four fights, and the fight wouldn’t sell for Plant. I’m assuming that PBC will place the Plant-Berlanga fight on Prime Video PPV with a likely sticker price of $59.99. That would be a tough sell if Berlanga gets beaten again before Caleb gets to him.
“With Plant, a lot of people were wondering if he’s going to take that rematch with Resendiz. What I’m hearing is he’s not. So, maybe you see Plant take a lesser fight as well, which would then set up a huge fight between those two guys,” Mannix said.
“I think we’re much more likely to get Plant-Berlanga than Plant-Charlo in the first half of 2026,” said Mannix.
The Logic Behind the Matchup
That makes much more sense for Plant, 33, to fight Berlanga in early next year than Jermall for these three reasons:
- Berlanga’s popularity
- More active than Charlo
- Youth
Jermall, 35, has been too inactive in the last four years, fighting just twice, for him to continue to be a popular fighter. Younger fans aren’t familiar with him, and many of the older ones view him as having lost his hunger due to his outside-of-the-ring problems.