By Miguel Maravilla at ringside
Photos: Sumio Yamada
Caleb Plant (23-2, 14 KOs) returned to the ring as he scored a spectacular ninth round knockout handing Trevor McCumby (28-1, 21 KOs) of Glendale, Arizona his first defeat in a wild fight for the vacant WBA interim super middleweight title on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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It was a slow first round but things got started in the second as McCumby connected with the left hook numerous times and appeared to stagger Plan in the second. Prompting McCumby to shake and rattle at the end of the round. McCumby showboated in the third and was fighting with more confidence as he outworked Plant. McCumby sent Plant to the canvas in the fourth.
Exchanging in the pocket on the inside, Plant and McCumby worked one another in the fifth. Things got interesting at the halfway mark as Plant pinned McCumby on the ropes to begin the sixth and landed solid. Plant returned to the favor as he began to showboat as the momentum was in his favor. Countering effectively, Plant worked McCumby to begin the seventh but McCumby fought him off and held his own in closing the round. The momentum appeared to be going in Plant’s favor as he worked McCumby in the eighth.
In the ninth, Plant had McCumby up against the ropes and connected with a series of combinations. following up and landing a series of crushing right hands as McCumby appeared to be fading, Plant went in for the close as he sent McCumby to the canvas as the referee Alan Huggins was stepped in to wave it off at 2:59 of the ninth.
Good win for Caleb , I think the difference was the level of competitions between Caleb and Trevor. Last 3 to 4 rounds were all for Caleb with little offensive from Trevor
Great fight between proper fighters.
Decent win for Plant but he nearly got knocked out. Plant doesn’t have the chin to take on anyone one above him.
Hmmm….he boxed well vs Benavidez.
Trevor was doing a good job but he made the mistake of stand against the ropes and then Caleb started connecting a lot and taking Trevor air out his lungs
Brave performance from untested Trevor, at the end Plant had more experience.
Simple, but accurate. McCumby got the better of it early and thought it was in the bag. Plant showed no fear. Both guys improved their stock.
good for Plant
Wow, I always wondered if Plant was capable of fighting in a phone booth. Plant realized he was having some problems fighting on the outside because of McCumby’s height, range, hand speed and punching power. In response, Plant stepped in the phone booth to crowd McCumby’s offense and to open his offense in range – smart move.
A nice fight, and I look forward to seeing McCumby in a future fight. Maybe Plant and Pacheco can give it a scrap.
Plants opponent had a mullet.
MAGADETH! Thanks Plant!
TRUMP 2024
trump to prison 2024.
Damn straight!
Clearly shows Plant is not at the top level in the division. He was basically beaten up then got lucky when the other guy completely gassed. Plant should go back to sucker-slapping other boxers backstage for his Instagram cred.
Too bad Trump wasn’t there to save McCumby! Plant beat his ass like Harris kicked Trump’s in the debate. Oh, well, another racist bites the dust!
Very little offensive from both.
The left from Lara was not a solid one and papa Garcia stopped it.
Great win for Plant!!! I had a feeling he’d be going for the stoppage.
All these Maga atheletes are weak people, just like the man they represent. This guy reminds me of that UFC Trump guy, when that Nigerian smashed him to bits.
That Nigerian-America was Kamaru Usman, and he’s also a Trump supporter. The majority of American MMA fighters are Trump supporters; regardless of race.
Trump in ’24 to save what biden/harris left of this once great country. And then to MAGA.
Great match! Mc cumby was wayyy tougher than expected! Overall a great win for plant!
Why was a WBA ‘interim’ belt on the line when Canelo settled his mandatory on the same card?
I was kinda hoping McCumby would sneak in another bomb and put Plant to sleep. Plant is a gate keeper. He’ll never be more. He’ll be a wanted man though, because he’ll be guy to pick up an easy belt from.
I think the key to a win in this fight, for either fighter, was adjustments (changing the game plan) and Plant proved to be more versatile and capable of making those adjustments, demonstrating an IQ I didn’t know he or his team possessed prior to this fight.
In the outside game Plant appeared to be outgunned by McCumby; the latter seemingly much stronger and landing heavy bombs, even making Plant tumble from a shot to the arm of all places. At this point, in my mind, things looked bleak for Plant.
However, In the 2nd half of the fight Plant and his team flicked the strategy switch on and changed it to an inside fight where he expertly cut off the ring and forced an inside fight and began targeting McCumby’s body in order to systematically defuse his power and stamina. Although McCumby was still very much a dangerous and game opponent, by the ninth round it was obvious that the new plan worked for team Plant and he was able to close the show spectacularly.
Plant showed depth, IQ, and a warrior heart. It would appear that any fighter with real substance, that has faced Canelo, becomes a better fighter. The 168 lb division has become incredibly stacked because of this and we’ll be seeing a huge lineup of mega fights very soon.