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Caleb Plant says he smells fear in his opponent Trevor McCumby ahead of their fight for the WBA interim super middleweight title on September 14th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The former IBF 168-lb champion Plant (22-2, 13 KOs) feels that the combination of the tough upbringing he had growing up and the fear in the 31-year-old McCumby (28-0, 21 KOs) gives him all the edge he needs to win.
Rematch with Canelo Possible
Whatever tough times Plant had many years ago, they’re over now. He’s been a wealthy millionaire since his fight against Canelo Alvarez in November 2021, and his life and his career are much different now.
Plant is 32 now, lost two out of his last three fights, and has fought only twice since getting the life-changing money from the Canelo fight. Career-wise, Plant could be one loss away from being washed up and forgotten news by fans. Losing this fight to McCumby would signal the end of Plant’s career.
The Tennesee native, ‘Sweethands’ Plant, needs McCumby to be afraid to give him a better chance of winning this fight because Caleb’s inactivity and punishment have eroded his skills. This is more of a 50-50 type of fight at this stage of Plant’s career.
So, it’s important for him that McCumby be afraid because that gives him a better chance of winning. After yet another long layoff for Plant, it’s hard to know what he’s got left. He took a terrible beating in his last fight against David Benavidez in March of last year, and he’s not been seen since.
Plant needs this fight to put himself in pole position for a well-paying rematch against superstar Canelo Alvarez, who is defending his unified super middleweight titles against Edgar Berlanga in the main event of their card next month. The event will be shown live on DAZN PPV.
Canelo hasn’t said who he’ll fight next if he’s victorious against Berlanga, but Plant would be a likely candidate because of his well-known status. You can argue that Plant wouldn’t be fighting in the co-feature spot if he weren’t being considered as the guy that Canelo will face next.
We know Canelo won’t fight David Benavidez, Christian Mbilli, or David Morrell. Plant is better known than the many contenders in the 168-lb division, and Canelo already knows he can beat him.
“When you come from the bottom, when you come from tough places, that’s a trait that you learn. They can smell that,” said Caleb Plant to Premier Boxing Champions, talking about Trevor McCumby ahead of their fight on September 14th.
It doesn’t matter if a fighter was poor growing up. They’re different people once they’ve reached millionaire status and have been living wealthy for years. The money changes everything.
Plant’s Inactivity a Concern
Look at Terence Crawford. He only fights once a year now, and his skills have suffered. Plant will have been out of the ring for 18 months by the time he faces McCumby next month on September 14th.
Again, the money changes a fighter for the worse, and it would be surprising if Plant is anywhere near the level of fighter he was three years ago when Canelo blessed him with a giant payday in 2021.
“People can smell that on you when, ‘This guy, he ain’t like that. I can smell it,’ and I can smell the nervousness on him,” Plant continued about his fear theme for his fight against McCumby. “If he thinks he’s nervous now, when that bell rings, and he walks out of that tunnel and it’s the biggest stage he’s ever been a part of, he can’t even imagine how big it’s going to be.
“I can assure you, I’m going to show him, and I’m going to show y’all the difference in levels,” said Plant.
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