By Ian S Palmer
Undefeated Caleb Plant of Nashville, Tennessee will be defending his IBF Super Middleweight Championship for the first time when he takes on unbeaten Mike Lee of Downers Grove, Illinois this Saturday, July 20th. The 12-round bout from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada can be seen live in North America on the Fox network as well as Fox Deportes. Plant won the title in January when he beat Jose Uzcategui by unanimous decision. Lee last fought in June of 2018 when he beat Jose Hernandez by a 10-round unanimous decision for the vacant WBO NABO Light Heavyweight Title.
The 27-year-old Plant pulled off a bit of an upset by dropping Uzcategui twice on his way to victory earlier this year. He enters the ring with a perfect record of 18-0 with 10 Kos. He also looked good in his previous bout against last fight 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 possess great power but carries around a decent knockout ratio of 56 per cent.
Plant turned pro in 2014 and has boxed 97 rounds since then. He had a good amateur career and boxed in the 2011 and 2013 Golden Gloves. He was also an alternate for the American Olympic Team for the 2012 Games in London, England. His best wins as a pro have been over 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 relatively unknown Lee.
As for Lee, he’s 32 years old, a former high school football player, Gold Gloves winner and Notre Dame college graduate who fights out of Chicago. He’s 6-feet tall with a 74-inch reach so gives up an inch in height to Plant but has the same reach. Lee turned pro back in 2010 and has put together a perfect mark of 21-0 since then with 11 Kos. He’s boxed 90 rounds since his debut and has a current knockout ratio of 52 per cent. Lee has basically fought as a light heavyweight as a pro and has weighed in as high as 180 lbs before.
When it comes to experience, Lee hasn’t fought a legitimate contender as of yet let alone a world champion so he’ll be stepping up in class when facing Plant but coming down in weight from the 175 lb division to 168 lbs for the first time. As well as winning the WBO NABO Light Heavyweight Crown he also captured the vacant USBA Light Heavyweight Belt with a 10-round unanimous decision over Chris Traietti in September of 2016. He’s been trained by Ronnie Shields in the past as well as Chris Byrd and has done well for himself after battling an autoimmune disease in the past.
Prediction…
Plant’s win over Uzcategui was a mild upset and Lee is hoping to do the same thing to the new super middleweight champ. It’s hard to predict how Lee will adjust to the 168 lb division after fighting as a light heavyweight but he does have a dangerous left hook. Plant has looked quite impressive lately and with Lee never having fought anybody of note I think Plant should be expected to retain his title on Saturday night.
