By Ian S Palmer
Undefeated Caleb Plant of Nashville, Tennessee will be defending his IBF Super Middleweight Championship for the third time when he takes on former IBF Middleweight King Caleb Truax of Oseo, Minnesota this Saturday, Jan. 30th. The 12-round bout can be seen live in North America on Fox and Fox Deportes from the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles, California. Plant last boxed in February when he stopped Vincent Feigenbutz in the 10th round while Truax last saw action in Janury, 2020 when he beat David Basajjamivule by majority decision by scores of 97-91, 95-93 and 94-94 after Basajjamivule had two points deducted for hitting behind the head.
The 28-year-old Plant, who now resides in Las Vegas, won the title in January, 2019 when he beat Jose Uzcategui by unanimous decision in a mild upset and dropped him twice on his way to victory. He then defended the belt against Mike Lee by third-round TKO in July, 2019 before stopping Feigenbutz last winter. Plant enters the ring with a perfect record of 20-0 with 12 Kos and also looked impressive before winning the title against Rogelio Medina in February, 2018 as he managed to neutralize his opponent’s punching power.
Plant is a pretty good-sized 168-pounder as he’s 6-feet-1-inch tall with a 74-inch wingspan. He doesn’t really possess great one-punch power but carries around a decent knockout ratio of 60 per cent. Plant turned pro in 2014 and has boxed 110 rounds since then. He had a good amateur career and fought in the 2011 and 2013 Golden Gloves. He was also an alternate for the American Olympic Team for the 2012 Games in London, England.
Plant’s best wins as a pro have been over Lee, Uzcategui, Medina, Juan De Angel, Carlos Galvan, Thomas Awimbono, Adasat Rodriguez and Andrew Hernandez. He possesses fine mobility, skills and speed and will try to utilize those attributes against the Truax. If he’s successful, he’s hoping to meet Canelo Alvarez in the future to combine some of the supper middleweight titles.
The 37-year-old Truax beat James DeGale in December of 2017 and took the Briton’s IBF Super Middleweight crown. He then lost the rematch by a close unanimous decision four months later. Truax stands 6-feet-1-inch tall and possesses a 75-inch reach which means he’s the same height as the champ but has a negligible one-inch edge in reach. He’ll climb into the squared circle with a mark of 31-4-2 with 19 Kos.
He also lost a world title bid to Daniel Jacobs in 2015 when he was stopped in the 12th round. Truax’s other defeats were also to former world champions as he dropped a unanimous 10-round decision to Jermain Taylor in 2012 and was stopped in the first round by Anthony Dirrell in April, 2016. He’s boxed 242 rounds since turning pro in 2007 and has a current knockout ratio of 50 per cent. His draws came against Ossie Duran in 2014 and Phil Williams in 2011.
Truax has fought and defeated a few other good pros in Antwun Echols, Matt Vanda, Don George and Derek Ennis. He has has the ability to give anybody a tough time of it as he proved in against DeGale, Taylor and Jacob, especially if they’re not at the top of their game. He’s been stopped twice, but doesn’t really have a weak chin. Truax’s competitive in bouts against Grade A boxers, but up until beating DeGale he typically fell just short.
Prediction…
I’m guessing this may be the first title fight in history between two guys named Caleb. Plant has been one of the most consistent and complete boxers on the globe for the past couple of years but Truax has plenty of heart and should give him a run for his money…at least for several rounds. Overall, Plant has the better boxing skill and power and should be able to impose his will on Truax enough to leave the ring with the belt still around his weight. Let’s not forget Plant is also nine years younger than Truax.
