Caleb Plant says he wants to fight the winner of the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford fight on September 12th. WBA interim super middleweight Plant (23-2, 14 KOs) still must win his second tune-up fight against Jose Armando Resendiz, which he must win on May 31st to be in position to fight the winner.
(Credit: Michael Ham/Premier Boxing Champions)
The Road to Canelo/Crawford
Plant, 32, would be getting an easy title shot if all he has to do is beat Resendiz (15-2, 11 KOs), because he’s been selected as another confidence booster. Alvarez knocked out Plant in the 11th round in 2021.
In 2023, Plant lost to David Benavidez by a 12-round unanimous decision. In Caleb’s last fight, he rebounded with a ninth-round knockout of Trevor McCumby in a warm-up fight last September. Now, Plant is getting another tune-up against Resendiz on May 31st
“I feel like where he’s at in his career. I feel like he was almost at his peak when we fought,” said Caleb Plant to the media about his belief that Canelo Alvarez isn’t the same fighter now as he was in 2021 when they fought. “Maybe it’s a stylistic matchup with some of his opponents, or maybe he’s starting to get a little older. I can’t say.”
Plant has got to be playing to intentionally be obtuse because anyone with eyes can see that Canelo is starting to show signs of determination. He’s nowhere near the fighter he was in 2021. His last performance against William Scull last Saturday was an all-time low. Canelo threw only 152 punches in the entire 12-round fight.
“I think we’ll get a good reason that in September against a fighter [Terence Crawford] who is moving around and around all the time like William Scull. He’ll make Canelo fight, and I feel it’ll be a good back-and-forth,” said Plant.
Canelo vs. Crawford might be the same cat and mouse as Canelo-Scull. Maybe Plant hasn’t watched a lot of Crawford’s fights because he’s got a little rabbit in him, too. He’s the guy that Shakur Stevenson patterned his fighting style after.
Questionable Progress
“I came up short, but I used that as fuel on the fire and motivation. I went back to the gym,” said Plant about him coming back from his loss to Canelo. “Some people lose and it shatters their confidence, whereas with me, I’m one step closer to what I want,” said Plant about his mindset after losing to Canelo in 2021.
We can’t really say that Plant improved from his loss to Canelo, because his record is 2-1 since, and his only two victories were against a washed-up 39-year-old Anthony Dirrell and bottom-feeding level contender Trevor McCumby. How can you tell Plant really came back when his only two wins were against those low-level fighters?
Dirrell was 100% shot to pieces when Plant fought him, and he made a big production about his victory, treating it like he beat a prime version of himself. Before he knocked him out, he was struggling with Dirrell and looking as poor as he’d looked in the Canelo fight.
“Falling short doesn’t deter my confidence,” said Plant. “My losses make me stronger. Mentally, this is his big moment. He wants it,” said Plant about his opponent, Resendiz. “He’s a determined guy. He wants that life-changing movement, but I’m a determined guy, too. I’m not letting him take that from me.”
The only good fighter Plant has faced in the last four years since his loss to Canelo was against David Benavidez, and he lost badly in 2023. He can’t say that his losses “makes me stronger” when the only two wins were against Dirrell and McCumby. Now, Plant is getting a third soft opponent with Resendiz. What really takes the cake is he wants the rematch with Canelo or a fight against Crawford if he’s victorious against Resendiz.
“I tried to make a fight with Berlanga, but he seems to be part of the witness protection program or something. He doesn’t want no smoke. Everybody here knows I’ve been wanting that fight and calling for that fight,” said Plant.
