LAS VEGAS – The irony in Caleb Plant’s well-marketed revenge tour is that he may never get a second look at the only two fighters to beat him.
While rematches with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and David Benavidez would be ideal down the road, neither fight is a priority now. In fact, Plant, 23-2 (14 KOs), is doing just fine without them and has emerged as a lucrative option for anyone in the vibrant super middleweight division.
The former IBF titlist and current interim WBA 168lbs titleholder next defends his secondary belt against Armando Resendiz, 15-2 (11 KOs). Their scheduled 12-round bout will headline a PBC on Prime Video quadruple-header this Saturday from Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“That means I’m in the spot I’m supposed to be in,” Plant told BoxingScene and other reporters during a media scrum. “That means I’ve been doing the right thing. That’s their job, too – gunning for the big dogs.
“That’s one thing Armando is trying to do. Maybe one day he’ll be a big dog but it ain’t gonna happen on Saturday night. It’s not his time yet.”
Plant is listed as a massive -2400 favorite according to bet365 sportsbook, which has Resendiz as a longshot +1120 underdog.
The odds don’t faze Plant, however. The 32-year-old Tennessee native – now based in the greater Las Vegas area – has too much to protect and, besides, has never been one to leave anything to chance.
A ninth-round stoppage win over previously unbeaten Trevor McCumby last September saw Plant level up to just 2-2 in his last four starts. His other win during that run was a violent, ninth-round knockout of former WBC titlist Anthony Dirrell in their October 2022 grudge match in Brooklyn, New York.
The two defeats came at the elite level, and both at nearby MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Plant was competitive early before he was dropped and stopped by Mexico’s Alvarez, 63-2-2 (39 KOs), in the eleventh round of their November 2021 WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO super middleweight full unification bout.
The setback ended his near three-year stay as an IBF titleholder. Plant rebounded with the above mentioned win over Dirrell. It led to a long-awaited grudge match with Benavidez, who enjoyed a strong second half surge to prevail in their March 2023 interim WBC title fight.
More so than the defeat was the 18-month wait between fights for Plant, who shook off ring rust and a fourth-round knockdown to eventually upend McCumby.
The win proved right on time given the current state of the division.
Benavidez gave up on the pipe dream of Alvarez ever looking his way and has moved up to light heavyweight where he holds the WBC title. Alvarez recently defeated unbeaten William Scull to become a two-time undisputed champion and will likely next face Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford, assuming they can find an appropriate venue to line up with their targeted September 13 date.
Few other fighters in the division represent a big enough payday to where the rest of the super middleweight players are racing to fight each other.
That leaves Plant in a terrific position, in addition to his career-long willingness to take on all comers.
Saturday’s show is designed to set up a grudge match with former two-division titlist Jermall Charlo, 33-0 (22 KOs), who faces Thomas ‘Cornflake’ Lamanna in the chief support. Plant has also previously called for showdowns with Edgar Berlanga, Diego Pacheco, Hamzah Sheeraz and – prior to his recent drug testing scandal – Jaime Munguia.
“There’s a lot of great fights out there,” acknowledged Plant. “All those fights are great for me. Any one of them could fight each other and it wouldn’t be as big as if any of them fought me. That’s a fact.”
For now, though, all focus is on the guy he is fully expected to defeat.
“It feels good to be in this position. If you’re the main event, that means you’re in a good place,” noted Plant. “I got my title and plan on keeping it. I feel like every time the bell rings, I put on a show. Even the fights where I came up short, they’ve always been in entertaining fashion.
“This fight is no different, I’m gonna get my hand raised for sure this Saturday night.”
Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as a senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home. Follow Jake on and .