Caleb Plant retains its IBF super-middleweight title with a unanimous victory over challenger Caleb Truax Saturday night at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles.
All three judges gave each round to Plant, who won 120-108 on all three of the scorecards in a dominant performance in which he was rarely threatened and consistently outscored veteran Truax.
Plant said afterwards that he injured his hand early in the fight, and that he was a little hesitant at times, but he was generally satisfied with his performance.
“I want to be the first undisputed super-middleweight champion of all time,” Plant said. He has his eye on a possible battle in May between title holders Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders. “Whoever gets in the way does not matter.”
Plant (21-0, 12 KO) pumped Truax with a consistent left stitch, mixing it along the way.
Known for his movement and ability to anticipate and dodge, Plant’s speed proved too much for Truax (31-5-2, 19 KO), who landed a total of 10 strokes in the first three rounds.
Plant began opening a cut root on Truax’s face in the middle of the fourth round while constantly dominating the fight.
The question for Plant now becomes who is next. The winner of an Alvarez-Saunders battle will make the best sense, as it will be a complete unification battle, although Alvarez still has to defeat Avni Yildirim on February 27th. Alvarez owns the WBA and WBC belts, while Saunders owns the WBO.
In a fellow heavyweight main event, Michael Coffie (12-0, 9 KO) cut a sharp left top to knock down Darmani Rock (17-1, 12 KO) for the first time in the third round. Rock rose to a score of 9, and seconds later Coffie landed a left hook on Rock’s head, knocking him down for a second time and ending the fight.
Undefeated 20-year-old Joey Spencer (12-0, 9 KO) knocked out Isiah Seldon (14-4-1) in the first round of a middleweight match and sent him to the mat twice. Seldon also dropped two points in less than a round of action because he hit Spencer in the back of his head.