LAS VEGAS, NV — Caleb Plant and Armando Reséndiz went into their WBA Super Middleweight Championship fight Saturday night at the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas and many say the outcome was the upset of the year because Reséndiz was a heavy underdog while Plant was the huge favorite to retain his title. But Plant had a setback and in boxing, the underdog walked away the winner.
The Premier Boxing Champions event, live-streamed on Amazon Prime had its moments in all of the 12 rounds. Plant, though a former super middleweight champion did not expect Reséndiz, regarded as a brawler, to go the 12-round distance. Reséndiz was the better fighter and Plant went home without seeking a mega fight against two-time champion Jermall Charlo.
Image Credit: Premier Boxing Champions
It came down to boxing skills. Reséndiz (Guayabitos, Mexico) won the split decision and was awarded scores of 116- 112 twice, with David Sutherland scoring it 115-113 for Plant.
“I knew that everybody was going to be against me because on paper, of course he was the favorite, but I believed in myself,” Reséndiz (16-2, 11 KOs) said. “My corner believed in me. And then we did exactly what we came to do.”
The shocking underdog, Reséndiz was highly underestimated by fans of boxing but he gained respect and according to CompBox, landed 186 of of 600 total punches (21 percent) to the 108 of 509 (21.2 percent) of Plant.
However, the loss for Plant (23-3, 14 KOs) tarnished any plans for a potential fight with Charlo, an adversary. The two were headed for a clash later this year.
Image Credit: Premier Boxing Champions
Reséndiz took control in round 6. He charged like the bull that has been seen in prior fights. He gave Plant a hard time to digest all of his deadly punches that rocked him out of element for a short time. Confidence was felt and seen through Reséndiz as he dominated the rest of the rounds. The hurt on Plant was obvious with a bloody cut by his right eye and red face of exhaustion. Plant said he has a rematch clause as that imminent fight with Charlo was derailed.
“I didn’t really worry about what people say, I knew I was going to win,” Reséndiz said. “I didn’t worry at all. I knew it was gonna be a tough fight and we gave them a great fight. Plant wasn’t his best and thought it was a close decision.”
“I felt like it was close and in a close fight, sometimes it switched the other way,” said Plant. “I feel like I was in control enough and using the whole ring, using my jab, but the judges saw it the other way. It wasn’t that he was putting so much pressure on me. He caught me with one overhand right. That was pretty good. But other than that, nothing really hurted me or stunned me.”
Regardless, Reséndiz goes home with a championship belt and has options. Charlo could be next on the agenda, all of course pending if Plant invokes that rematch clause and anything is possible.
“I’ll just get back with my team,” said Plant, who has also sustained a loss to Canelo Alvarez that got the Mexican Icon all the super middleweight titles. “Go home to my family, spend time with my daughter. My son’s on the way and you know we’ll regroup and we’ll be back.”
Can this be one of the nominees for Upset of the Year 2025? I’d like to think so.
THE UNDERCARD:
Jermall Charlo vs. Thomas LaManna
Jermall Charlo (34-0, 23 KOs) vs. Thomas LaManna (39-6-1, 18 KOs) was one hell of a fight. Backing down was never in the works for LaManna, even when he got knocked down three times. The warrior-spirit he had was highly unique until the doctor at ringside stopped the 10-round super middleweight contest after the fifth round from a tremendous onslaught of punches to the face.
Image Credit: Premier Boxing Champions
The long 18 month hiatus of Charlo, due to injuries and personal issues, gave him enough strength in his return which showed in the fight. The end-result proved he’s still unstoppable.
“It feels good to be back,” he said. “I’m thankful to everyone who stood by me, I love y’all. It goes on man. I’m back. You know you gotta go through things to get better.”
Image Credit: Premier Boxing Champions
When asked about a potential fight between him and Plant, he answered with grace. After everything that he went through, he reminded himself that he can’t go back to what happened:
“I’m just looking to stay well-known and relevant. No more dark places and keep my head straight. I just want to encourage everyone in the world, keep God first, keep God first.”
THE FIGHT CARD:
Yoenli Hernandez vs. Kyrone Davis
The Cuban native, Hernandez (8-0, 7 KOs) controlled all of the 10 rounds going against Davis. His pressure was too difficult to break for the nonchalance of Davis (19-4-1, 6 KOs). There was hardly any progress coming from Davis when Hernandez was clearly ahead and very close to win it all. Davis’ fighting style looked like he was trying to be as cautious as possible because he was not confident with his punches to throw. In the end, the judges favored Hernandez with all three of them scoring the bout 100-89.
Image Credit: Premier Boxing Champions
“I dominated based on the results of my preparation and the conviction I have in my skills,” said Herandez. “I want to thank all of the fans that showed me their love and support, and I want to go after the belts next. Bring on the champions.”
“I just couldn’t catch my rhythm from the beginning,” Davis said. “I started fighting from behind and wasn’t able to establish my offense. He’s (Hernandez) is a good fighter and he’s got a bright future. I’m gonna go back to the drawing board and figure out what’s next.”
Isaac Lucero vs. Omar Valenzuela
Who expected a TKO in round two? God clearly had a plan laid out for Lucero (Mexico-Las Vegas) who defeated Valenzuela (Tijuana, Mexico) in that round of their middleweight contest. The high-energy of Lucero was shown in his capabilities of outworking Valenzuela to achieve greatness one fight at a time. The fearless brawler’s game plan looked like a success as soon as the bell rang that it didn’t leave Valenzuela with a shortcut of changing his direction to fight better. Lucero’s unbeatable professional record is still perfect—17-0, 13 KOs, while Valenzuela had to settle with his first loss, turning his undefeated record into 23-1, 20 KOs.
Image Credit: Premier Boxing Champions
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity and I’m thankful to everyone watching—this is something I’ve been dreaming of and it feels amazing.” Lucero said as he celebrated. Although it can look unfair to Valenzuela and his team for his first loss, sometimes the referee can see what others can’t, which unfortunately led him to stopping Valenzuela to continue on.
“It’s a painful loss, but I leave with my head up high,” Valenzuela said. “I felt like I could have continued, but I will learn from this and become stronger for it.”
Curmel Moton vs. Renny Viamonte
The upcoming lightweight 18-year old Curmel Moton showed off his incredible boxing skills against 28-year old Renny Viamonte. His efforts outshined effortlessly which equipped himself with another win to keep himself undefeated—8-0, 6 KOs.
Viamonte was overwhelmed by Moton even though he did his best to earn his win. Unfortunately, the three judges that were present saw who performed above average and it was Moton (80-72, 80-72, and 80-72 UD).
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