By Ian S Palmer
Jose Uzcategui of Venezuela will be defending his IBF Super Middleweight Championship for the first time when he takes on unbeaten American Caleb Plant at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California this Sunday, January 13th. The 12-round bout can be seen live in the USA on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Deportes. Uzcategui fought last in September when he beat Ezequiel Maderna by 10-round unanimous decision in a non-title bout. He win the interim title by stopping Andre Dirrell after the eighth round last March in a rematch after he was disqualified in their first meeting a year earlier. Plant’s last fight came in February when he beat Rogelio Medina by a 12-round unanimous decision.
The 28-year-old Uzcategui met Dirrell the first time in May of 2017 with the fight ending at the end of the eighth round when Uzcategui was disqualified for hitting Dirrell after the bell. Uzcategui was ahead 77-74 and 77-75 on the scorecards with the third judge having it 76-76 at the time. He then won the rematch quite handily. However, he didn’t look too sharp in his last outing against Maderna. Uzcategui, who now fights out of Mexico is a bit of a banger and will enter the ring with a mark of 28-2 along with 23 Kos.
He stands just over 6-feet-2-inches tall with a reach of 76.5 inches which makes him one of the bigger super middleweights out there. As mentioned, he’s got quite a bit of power with a current knockout ratio of 77 per cent. He’s boxed just 103 rounds since turning pro back in 2011 and 10 of his last 11 wins have all been by knockout. Before being disqualified against Dirrell, Uzcategui’s lone career loss was by a 10-round unanimous decision to Matt Korobov in June of 2014.
The champion’s biggest wins have been stoppages against Derrick Findley, David Lopez and Julius Jackson and a 10-round unanimous decision over Rogelio Medina. Uzcategui has a decent chin and good power, but he can sometimes be a bit wild with his punches.
Plant is a 26-year-old native of Nashville, Tennessee and has a perfect record of 17-0 with 10 Kos. He looked good in his last fight against Medina as he managed to neutralize his opponent’s punching power. Plant is also a pretty good-sized 168-pounder, but still gives up an inch in height and 2.5-inches in reach to Uzcategui as he’s 6-foot-1 with a 74-inch wingspan. He doesn’t have the power of the champion either, but carries around a decent knockout ratio of 59 per cent.
Plant turned pro in 2014 and has boxed 85 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 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 harder-hitting Uzcategui.
Prediction…
Uzcategui has the edge in size, power and experience as he’s fought the tougher opponents up to now. Plant may be smarter in the ring, but is stepping up in class here. I think Uzcategui will stalk Plant through most of the fight while the challenger tries to win rounds with his jab and skills. Sooner or later Plant will need to stand his ground though and I think this is when the champion will take over and will end up retaining his crown.
