Caleb Plant focused on Caleb Truax, not what might lie ahead
Caleb Plant has a tremendous opportunity on the horizon.
Canelo Alvarez, his fellow 168-pound titleholder and arguably the best in the business, has said his plan is to unify the major titles this year. That means the Mexican star has Plant in his sights, which is music to the young champion’s ears. That fight would give Plant the opportunity to become one of the biggest attractions in the sport.
However, at the moment, one man stands in his way: Caleb Truax, his opponent Saturday in Los Angles (FOX). All he has to do is win — no matter how he does it — and he could end up with a date to fight Alvarez.
So is any type of victory good enough? Not at all. Plant wants to make a statement every time he steps into the ring. This fight, his third title defense, is no different.
“I’m not looking past him, but I am looking through him,” said Plant, who is listed as a 20-1 favorite by BetMGM. “I’m looking to end this fight early. I don’t see it going 12 rounds. So whether they throw in the white towel, I throw in the white towel for him or the ref steps in to do his job, I’m looking for a stoppage.
“This ends with me getting my hand raised in spectacular fashion.”
Plant (20-0, 12 KOs) has had his hand raised in all of his professional fights, which has been a steady march to the top of the super middleweight division.
He won the IBF title by putting rugged Jose Uzcategui down twice and fairly easily outpointing him in January 2019. He followed that with impressive knockouts of Mike Lee and Vincent Feigenbutz, the latter fight in February of last year.
His mind is on the 37-year-old Truax (31-4-2, 19 KOs) now. Then, if things go well Saturday, he’ll focus on his next move in a step-by-step approach to building himself into a major force.
“I feel like there are unification fights to be made and I feel like they will happen,” he said. “But as of now, January 30 has my full attention. After that, we’ll have a better understanding of how the cards will fall in the super middleweight division and we’ll be ready to make our next move.
“We’re not looking to jump on something quick for a quick payday and ride off into the sunset. We’re looking to take this thing all the way to the top and sometimes that requires patience.
“I know in due time, after I handle business on January 30, when those fights do happen, everything will come to fruition just like we imagined.”
Plant said the fact he’s a prohibitive favorite to beat Truax means nothing to him. The same would apply in a fight with Alvarez, in which Plant surely would be a significant underdog.
He believes in himself regardless of the opponent.
“Me against Jose Uzcategui, they had me the underdog and they had it wrong,” Plant said. “So I don’t pay attention to numbers, betting odds. That’s not how I became a world champion and how I’m going to stay world champion.
“My job is to go in there fully focused on the task at hand. I could care less what the odds say. I know what I need to go in there and do because betting odds don’t win or lose fights.
“… When I put my mind to something, no matter what it is in life, when I say I’m going to do it, I do it. And when I say I want something, I get it. So it doesn’t matter what life tosses my way, it doesn’t matter what I’m up against, once I set my mind to it, I assure you it will get done.
“I’m fully motivated for this fight, fully focused and, again, I can’t wait to get in there.”