Analysis: Caleb Plant marches forward ‘the way a warrior would’

Many boxers begin to slow their careers after reaching the pinnacle of the sport, winning championship belts and making millions of dollars.

Las Vegas-based super middleweight (168 pounds) Caleb Plant can’t imagine operating that way. The 32-year-old fought his way out of poverty as a child in his native Nashville, Tenn., and through personal tragedy, including the loss of his 1-year-old daughter in 2019, and he’s not going to stop now.

Plant (23-2) defends his WBA interim title tonight at Michelob Ultra Arena against 26-year-old Armando Resendiz (15-2) in a Premier Boxing Champions card streaming on Prime Video. Doors open at 2 p.m. with the main-event ring walks expected around 8:30.

“I’m a competitor and a winner,” Plant said at the final news conference before tonight’s bout. “I’ve been a winner my whole life. Regardless of whatever I’ve done, that’s not what wakes me up in the morning.”

Plant has lived the dream as far as his boxing career over the past half-decade or so. He had a title reign that lasted more than two years to land the most sought-after booking in the sport — a headlining fight against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and its accompanying payday.

For Plant, that meant a $10 million base purse as well as a cut of the $64 million pay-per-view revenue.

The whole experience in November 2021 at MGM Grand Garden Arena seems to have only made him hungrier for success.

Plant didn’t take any extended time off after the ultimate 11th-round TKO loss to Alvarez, having fought every year since while talking about still feeling he has something to prove.

“I want to cement my legacy and show my children firsthand what it looks like to work hard at something,” Plant said. “Have I fallen short a couple of times? Yeah, but I did it with integrity and the way a warrior would do it. If you fall short, you dust yourself off and you keep going.”

Plant bounced back after losing to Alvarez with a vicious knockout of Andre Dirrell to earn his second pay-per-view headlining assignment — against David Benavidez in March 2023 at MGM.

But Benavidez outworked him en route to a unanimous-decision victory, meaning Plant to this point hasn’t come through in the two biggest spots of his career.

He’s determined to rectify that, with the matchup against the seemingly outmatched Resendiz seen as a tune-up to amp Plant back into position for another blockbuster matchup.

Notably, in direct support of Plant versus Resendiz tonight, undefeated longtime middleweight champion Jermall Charlo returns to the ring for the first time since November 2023 to take on his own heavy-underdog opponent, Thomas LaManna.

Plant and Charlo have developed a rivalry dating back a couple years ago when they got into a dustup backstage of the Terence Crawford versus Errol Spence fight at T-Mobile Arena.

“If Charlo can handle his business in the co-main event, I’m looking for that winner,” Plant said. “Me and Charlo can run it.”

There’s been no attempt to mask the fact that Resendiz and LaManna are merely seen as speed bumps to roll over on the way to the ultimate destination of booking Plant versus Charlo later this year.

Ads for Saturday night’s fight card describe Charlo and Plant as “on a collision course,” and the two former champions looked more eager to stare down each other than their current opponents at the news conference.

“I’m not overlooking LaManna, but there are other fighters I can face in this division that would solidify my legacy,” Charlo said.

Charlo and his twin brother, Jermell Charlo, have talked about reigniting their passion and motivation for boxing now that they’re 35 years old with the end of their fighting days potentially in sight.

But Plant’s drive never left him.

Juxtaposing his career with Jermell’s particularly makes for an interesting study.

Jermell worked his way into his own showdown with Alvarez, in September 2023, but drew criticism for what many considered a listless performance in a unanimous-decision loss.

Jermell was accused of focusing on the payday and not getting knocked out against Alvarez. That’s not how Plant approached the booking, as he showed more willingness to attack and even won a couple rounds.

He’s vowing to show the same aggression against Resendiz and then, perhaps, Jermall to bank the landmark win that’s eluded him.

“This is a big moment for Armando, but it’s big for me too,” Plant said. “I have a lot on the line. He may have nothing to lose, but I’ve got everything to lose. I sacrificed a lot, and you’re going to see it in the ring.”

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