Caleb Plant retained his IBF super middleweight title with a unanimous decision win over challenger Caleb Truax on Saturday night at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles.
All three judges gave every round to Plant, who won 120-108 on all three scorecards in a dominant performance in which he was rarely threatened and outclassed the veteran Truax throughout.
Plant said afterward that he hurt his hand early in the fight, causing him to be “a little hesitant at times,” but overall he was happy with his performance.
“I want to become the first undisputed super middleweight champion of all time,” said Plant, who has his eyes on a potential May bout between titleholders Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders. “Whoever is in the way of that, doesn’t matter.”
Plant (21-0, 12 KO) pummeled Truax with a consistent left jab, mixing in combinations along the way.
Known for his movement and ability to anticipate and evade punches, Plant’s speed proved too much for Truax (31-5-2, 19 KO), who landed a total of 10 punches in the first three rounds.
Plant started to open up a cut on Truax’s face in the middle of the fourth round, continually dominating the fight.
The question for Plant now becomes who is next. The winner of an Alvarez-Saunders fight would make the most sense, since that would become a complete unification title fight, although Alvarez still needs to defeat Avni Yildirim on Feb. 27. Alvarez owns the WBA and WBC belts, while Saunders is the WBO titleholder.
In a co-main event with heavyweights, Michael Coffie (12-0, 9 KO) landed a crisp left uppercut to knock Darmani Rock (17-1, 12 KO) down for the first time in the third round. Rock got up after a 9-count, and then seconds later Coffie landed a left hook to 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 fight, sending him to the mat twice. Seldon, in less than a round of action, also had two points deducted for hitting Spencer in the back of his head.