Notebook: Plant 'looking through' Truax with 168-pound unification on mind
Xu trashes Warrington; Broner foe; TR undercard; quick hits
Even though Caleb Truax is the mandatory challenger for super middleweight world titlist Caleb Plant, he did not have to fight him next.
Plant could have taken an optional defense, but he and his team decided it was best to face Truax next and, in their words, get him out of the way.
So, Plant will make his third title defense against former titleholder Truax in the Premier Boxing Champions main event on Saturday (Fox and Fox Deportes, 8 p.m. ET) without spectators at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles.
The reason Plant (20-0, 12 KOs), 28, of Las Vegas, elected to make his second mandatory defense in a row – he knocked out Germany’s Vincent Feigenbutz in the 10th round 11 months ago – is because it means that if he wins the mandatory will not loom over him and potentially interfere with making a bigger fight.
“We wanted to do back-to-back mandatories. That way, moving forward, I got a year free and clear to make those unification fights happen,” Plant said during Thursday’s final video news conference. “I’m not looking past him. I know I’m focused on the task at hand – completely focused on the task at hand – and I’m just ready to get in there and fight.”
While Plant did not mention any future opponent by name, he is talking about a potential fall fight with unified world champion Canelo Alvarez, boxing’s biggest star, who outpointed Callum Smith in December to claim two of the four major belts. He wants all four. If Alvarez beats mandatory challenger Avni Yildirim on Feb. 27 and then unifies three belts by beating titlist Billy Joe Saunders, his expected opponent in May, it would leave Plant holding the final piece of the undisputed puzzle and ready for a mega fight.
PBC and Alvarez discussed a deal that would have included a Plant fight but Alvarez opted for a two-fight deal with Matchroom Boxing. But that is up after the May fight, so Alvarez will again be a free agent, able to once again negotiate with PBC.
Plant knows Alvarez is out there and it’s a fight he and Alvarez have said they want. But Plant knows he has to first face Truax (31-4-2, 19 KOs), 37, of St. Michael, Minnesota, who is seeking to reclaim the belt he won from James DeGale in the December 2017 upset of the year before losing it to him in an immediate rematch in April 2018.
“I’ve been really focused on what I need to do and I’m just ready to go in there and handle business,” Plant said. “It’s hard to say where Caleb Truax ranks in terms of past opponents. I have to get in there with him. I know he’s a veteran, has a lot of experience and is a former world champion who has upset people before, so he has to be taken seriously.”
Plant is predicting a sensational finish, which would certainly raise anticipation for an Alvarez showdown.
“I’m fully focused on (Saturday) and when that bell rings so I can do what I do best,” Plant said. “I’m not looking past him, but I am looking through him. I’m looking to end this fight early. I don’t see it going 12 rounds, so whether they throw in the white towel, I throw in the white towel for him or the ref steps in to do his job, I’m looking for a stoppage. This ends with me getting my hand raised in spectacular fashion.
“I feel like there are unification fights to be made and I feel like they will happen. But as of now, (Truax) has my full attention. After that, we’ll have a better understanding of how the cards will fall in the super middleweight division and we’ll be ready to make our next move.”
Inside Boxing Live appearance
I joined my pal Dan Canobbio on his Inside Boxing Live show this week. We discussed the prospect of a Manny Pacquiao-Ryan Garcia fight, Plant’s place at 168 and his Saturday defense against Truax, the heavyweight landscape, my world famous Fleece and more. Enjoy!
Xu Can rips Warrington
The fight England’s Josh Warrington wanted was against Xu Can, a secondary featherweight titleholder from China. Their camps were in talks and Warrington hoped they would meet Feb. 13 in the United Kingdom.
But Xu, while willing to fight in England, did not want to do so without spectators during the U.K. lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, he wanted to push it off until spring, which led to Warrington’s mandatory defense being called. So, Warrington vacated his belt last week rather than abiding by the results of a purse bid for a mandatory defense against Kid Galahad, who he already defeated in a defense. Instead, Warrington will face Mauricio Lara in a nontitle fight Feb. 13 (DAZN).
Xu (18-2, 3 KOs), 26, who has made two defenses and fought three of his last four bouts in the United States as he is promoted by Golden Boy, still wants to fight Warrington (30-0, 7 KOs), who also said he is interested in a spring fight with either Xu or titlist Gary Russell Jr. The target date is April 24, according to Warrington promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, but that didn’t stop Xu from getting in some digs at Warrington.
“If you cared about the pandemic in the U.K., you would say, ‘Holding a contest in February, the U.K.? That’s murder!’ But Warrington said, ‘I can’t believe that Xu Can chickened out of the contest.’ Huh? Then let’s talk about who’s the coward,” Xu said in translated comments given to Fight Freaks Unite. “The pandemic is getting worse every day in the U.K., and the whole country is still in lockdown. We used to invite Warrington to have a contest in China or in a third country. But he was afraid. He said that he just wanted to fight in the U.K. Warrington is just a 30-year-old man who only dares to fight in his backyard. What I want to say is I dare to compete against you anywhere and anytime. Do you dare? My coach is already waiting for me in Europe now. I will go to meet him soon and get ready for the battle.
“Once the situation is safe for us in the U.K. we will start the battle immediately. I am not afraid of going to the U.K. I look forward to fighting against you in your hometown. Now, just keep your mouth shut and focus on training. One more thing: Protect your chin and save it for me.”
Smith-Vlasov undercard set
Top Rank on Thursday announced the preliminary bouts for its Feb. 13 card inside the bubble of the conference center at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The main card, headlined by the vacant WBO light heavyweight title bout between Joe Smith Jr. and Maxim Vlasov, is on ESPN (10 p.m. ET) with the prelims beginning at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Those bouts include a potential cracker between featherweights Adam Lopez and Jason Sanchez, who meet for Lopez’s regional belt in a 10-rounder.
Lopez (14-2, 6 KOs), of Glendale, California, suffered a seventh-round knockout loss to Oscar Valdez in November 2019 but has won his only fight since, a 10-round decision over Luis Coria in the bubble in June.
“On Feb. 13, we’re back on the big screen,” Lopez said. “Mark your calendars, call off work, do what you have to do. You don’t want to miss this one,” Lopez said, expecting an action fight.
Sanchez (15-2, 8 KOs), of Albuquerque, New Mexico, lost a decision to Valdez challenging him for his featherweight world title in June 2019, won his next fight and is coming off a decision loss to former title challenger Christopher Diaz in June.
“l’ve never been more ready. I just came back from a loss, so I am more determined and hungrier than ever,” Sanchez said. “I will not take another loss, and that is my biggest motivation.”
Blue chip heavyweight prospect Jared Anderson (7-0, 7 KOs), of Toledo, Ohio, will meet Kingsley Ibeh (5-1-1, 4 KOs), of Phoenix, in six-rounder.
The card will also see the return of the Dominican Republic’s Carlos Adames (18-1, 14 KOs), who is moving up to middleweight for his first fight since losing a decision to Patrick Teixeira for an interim junior middleweight world title in November 2019. He’ll face a foe to be determined in an eight-rounder.
In four-rounders: lightweight Eric Puente (4-0, 0 KOs) will face Sergio Vega (2-0-1, 2 KOs); amateur standouts Troy Isley, a middleweight from Alexandria, Virginia, and Floyd “Cashflow” Diaz, a bantamweight from Las Vegas, will make their pro debuts; and welterweight Jahi Tucker (2-0, 1 KO) will face Eric Rodriguez (1-1, 1 KO).
Quick hits
Former four-division titlist Adrien Broner, due to headline Showtime’s Feb. 20 tripleheader at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, will face the unknown Jovanie Santiago in a junior welterweight fight, a source with knowledge of the bout told Fight Freaks Unite, confirming BoxingScene’s initial report. Santiago (14-0-1, 10 KOs), 31, of Puerto Rico, who has boxed all of his bouts either in Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic, has never faced a notable opponent — unless you count the long-faded former titlist DeMarcus Corley, whom he outpointed in 2017. Broner (33-4-1, 24 KOs), 31, of Cincinnati, has not fought in two years, since he was easily outpointed by Manny Pacquiao in January 2019, and is 0-2-1 in his last three bouts since 2017.
USA Boxing announced that junior welterweight Keyshawn Davis, one of the top amateurs in the country, has been removed from the Olympic qualification team for the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo “due to the violation of the USA Boxing Athlete Selection Procedures resulting in him being disqualified from participating in the Olympic Games scheduled for this summer. USA Boxing wishes Keyshawn the best of luck in his future endeavors inside and outside the ring.” USA Boxing did not specify the violation. Davis, 21, a Norfolk, Virginia, native, plans to go pro. He was a silver medalist at the 2019 world amateur championships and a gold medalist at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. He is trained by Kay Koroma, a former USA Boxing coach, who trains Shakur Stevenson among others in the pros.
Unified bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue was the big winner in the Japanese 2020 boxing awards. He was named Japan’s boxer of the year by the Japan Boxing Commission and the country’s Sports Writers Association on Thursday. “The Monster” also received the knockout of the year award for his seventh-round stoppage of Jason Moloney on Oct. 31 in Las Vegas and that bout was picked as fight of the year. Junior bantamweight titlist Kazuto Ioka claimed the “technique award,” having defeated Kosei Tanaka on Dec. 31. The fight of the year for a nontitle bout went to Masayoshi Nakatani’s upset ninth-round knockout of Felix Verdejo on Dec. 12 in Las Vegas. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the annual awards ceremony will not take place this year.
Promoter Don King still plans to put on his first card in years on Friday night (with no fans) at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, but the show has gone through a variety of changes. Dispensing with the minutia of the saga, secondary heavyweight titlist Mahmoud Charr, stuck in Germany without the proper visa to come to the United States, will not defend his belt against interim titlist Trevor Bryan. Instead, Bryan will face former titlist Bermane Stiverne in the main event of a card that will stream on King’s website and FITE for $19.95 beginning at 7 p.m. ET. The card was also supposed to include cruiserweight titlist Beibut Shumenov in the co-feature defending against Raphael Murphy, but Shumenov is also off.
Top Rank has shifted welterweight prospect Xander Zayas (6-0, 5 KOs), 18, of Sunrise, Florida, from its Feb. 13 ESPN card to its Feb. 20 one at the MGM Grand conference center in Las Vegas. Zayas is slated to face James Martin in a six-round bout on the undercard of junior lightweight titlist Miguel Berchelt’s much-anticipated fight with mandatory challenger and former featherweight titlist Oscar Valdez.
All Star Boxing promoter Tutico Zabala announced the next batch of dates for his “Boxeo Telemundo” series. The first card of the new season will take place on March 5 (Telemundo, 12 a.m. ET) at Osceola Heritage Park’s events center in Kissimmee, Florida. Junior welterweight Yomar Alamo (18-0-1, 12 KOs), of Puerto Rico, will face Jesus Beltran (17-3-2 10 KOs), of Mexico, in the 10-round main event. After eight shows in the same venue without spectators to close 2020, fans will be permitted up to 50 percent capacity with temperature checks, social distancing and masks required. Zabala will also have Telemundo cards on March 12 and March 19 at Florida venues to be announced.
Show and tell
Probably about 10-12 years ago I bought a large collection of Ring magazines that encompassed virtually every issue from the 1940s through the 1970s, most of them in pretty nice condition. I hadn’t looked through them in ages but delved in recently and pulled this one out: It’s the October 1962 issue -- the first cover appearance of a young Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay), who was ranked the No. 7 heavyweight in the world in that issue’s rankings. The article was about his most recent victory, a fifth-round knockout of Alejandro Lavorante, and the expectation that he would next fight Archie Moore, which he did in November 1962. Four fights after beating Moore he would shake up the world by knocking out Sonny Liston to win the heavyweight title and soon after change his name to Muhammad Ali.
Caleb Plant photo: Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions