By Sam Volz: Caleb ‘Sweethands’ Plant says he’d be interested in fighting middleweight Jermall Charlo if he can’t get a fight against Canelo Alvarez should he successfully defeat interim WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez this Saturday night on March 25th.
Jermall (32-0, 22 KOs) would have to move up from 160, where he holds the WBC middleweight title, to face Plant (22-1, 13 KOs) for his interim WBC 168-lb belt.
It doesn’t look promising that Charlo, 32, would be willing to move up to fight Plant at 168, considering the Texas native hasn’t fought in two years, and it’s unclear whether he’ll ever fight again.
In a recent photo of Charlo, he looked badly overweight and nowhere near 168. If he does choose to resume his career at some point, it’s unlikely he’ll pick a defensive fighter that moves as much as Plant.
That would be the last person a ring-rusty Charlo would probably want to fight. Interestingly, Jermall recently called out WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, which suggests he has respect for him.
“I would become the mandatory, so technically no,” Caleb Plant said to The DAZN Boxing Show on whether there’s anyone else besides Canelo Alvarez he would be interested in fighting next if he defeats David Benavidez and can’t get a fight against Canelo Alvarez in his next fight.
“But I’m just letting it be known now that if that isn’t good enough, then I need to step to Jermall Charlo right after that and beat him. I would be more than willing and able to do that.
“He’s already the WBC champ at 160; he can come up to super middleweight and first dibs,” said Plant about his interest in fighting Jermall if no Canelo fight.
When Jermall was still active with his career, he would have given Plant a lot of problems with his power and combination punching.
How he handled Sergiy Derevyanchenko, Dennis Hogan, and Brandon Adams was impressive. Unfortunately, those fights took place a long, long time ago, and it’s questionable whether Jermall can get back to that level, given the amount of time he’s been out of the ring and the weight he’s packed on his frame.
It’s not a good idea for Plant to look past Benavidez because he’s the underdog in that fight, and the chances are high that he will lose.