Vincent Feigenbutz (31-2, 28 KOs) hosted a press conference today in his home city of Karlsruhe ahead of flying out to Nashville, Tennessee, where he will challenge Caleb Plant (19-0, 11 KOs) for the IBF super middleweight world title at the Bridgestone Arena on February 15th.
Known as the ‘KO King’ due to his 85% knockout ratio, Feigenbutz has worked himself into a mandatory position with the IBF following a run of ten consecutive victories – nine of which came within the distance.
The 24-year-old German previously held the WBA super middleweight title having stopped Mauricio Reynoso in the third round at the Gerry Weber Stadium in 2015. Feigenbutz successfully defended the title with a unanimous decision victory over Giovanni De Carolis, before losing a rematch the following year.
Feigenbutz, who hopes to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Max Schmeling by becoming only the second German boxer to win a world title in America, informed the gathered media that Caleb Plant can expect a tough night on February 15th.
“I am pleased that we are so close to the fight now,” said Feigenbutz. “I’m feeling fantastic and very well prepared. Caleb Plant is a tough opponent, but I’m not going to give him anything.
“I will give everything I have and fight until the last second! I want to thank my whole team and Team Sauerland for making this dream a reality for me!”
Dr. Martin Lenz, the mayor of Karlsruhe, was also in attendance at the press conference and expressed the city’s pride and support of Feigenbutz.
“It is a great honor for the city of Karlsruhe that Vincent will represent us in the USA,” said Lenz. “We are very proud of him regardless of this fight! We would also like to thank his promoter Team Sauerland and manager Rainer Gottwald for bringing the city of Karlsruhe to this big stage.
“It’s remarkable that with Regina Halmich, Sven Ottke and now Vincent Feigenbutz we produce such great boxers. The city of Karlsruhe will have our fingers crossed for Vince!”
Feigenbutz’s promoter Nisse Sauerland is confident Germany will have a new world champion come February 15th.
“We are delighted to make this fight happen and reward Vince’s hard work with the opportunity of becoming a two-time world champion,” said Sauerland. “This is a great opportunity for Vincent and also for German boxing – don’t miss Vincent make history on February 15th”.
The world title fight takes place at the 20,000-seater Bridgestone Arena and all the action will be broadcast live on Fox in the US and other territories to be released shortly.
First, I love the match up!
Plant is the clear favorite in this fight, but Feigenbutz has plenty of experience as a pro + has a better KO ratio than Plant.
I don’t think there’s anyone outside of Germany who gives Vince a chance in this fight – after all, Plant’s last fights were impressive wins, and his stock in the super middle weight division is rising fast. His best win was against Uzcategui, whereas Feigenbutz hasn’t really beaten anyone known yet. Naturally, most boxing aficionados consider them to be in two entirely different leagues, and so do I. At the same time, Feigenbutz has KO power and if he can get to Plant early, an upset, especially by KO is possible.
If I would have to bet, I’d say Plant by UD. Feigenbutz is no Mike Lee (who got KO’d by Plant) and I think he will be outclassed but hang in tough against Plant. All in all, an interesting match up.
I think this fight is nothing more than the same fight as Canelo Alvarez vs Rocky Fielding in 2018. In other words, an illusion on paper that it’s going to be a great fight based off records when in fact, it’s nothing more than sparring session against limited opposition. Feigenbutz may have a puncher’s chance, but don’t bank on it unless Plant stands right in front of him.
Let’s see how the fight will play out. I don’t think it will be entirely one-sided, but Plant is obviously expected to win in impressive fashion.
Hope you are right Stonefree.
Fitz not much amateur experience Caleb should win this easy enough as long as he boxes smartly.
I was just reading up in this guy and he turned pro at 16 with zero amateur experience! Maybe he had a kick boxing background or something, but very rare is someone who can have a succesful career without any amateur experience, especially at such a young age. Plant is a crafty stylist who is a lot better than people give him credit for. This makes for a very interesting fight. Knowing nothing about Feigenbutz, other than what I just read, I’ll have to go with Plant on this one.
In the diluted world of “champions” and “ex-champions,” I would bet that there are not 10 people in the US who have ever heard of the challenger.