Former super middleweight world champion Caleb Plant bounced back from a knockdown to stop the previously unbeaten Trevor McCumby on Canelo’s undercard.
The end came in round nine at T-Mobile Arena as Plant captured the Interim WBA Super Middleweight Title.
Plant used his speed advantage to control the first round, but McCumby bounced back well in round two with a series of big left hooks that appeared to have Plant dazed heading back to his corner. McCumby took that momentum into round four, as he landed a left hook to the body that appeared to hit Plant’s shoulder, but nonetheless sent him to the mat for a knockdown.
“It was a pretty tough fight, I was just easing in,” said Plant. “I proved that I can fight on the inside tonight and I did what I had to do to get that WBA belt.”
“He caught me pulling out and hit me in the shoulder, but that’s part of the game,” said Plant. “He came in with wild punches and I just had to stay focused. That’s what champions do.”
After recovering from the knockdown, Plant came out in round five making a key adjustment by positioning himself directly in McCumby’s chest to blunt his power. Showing his ability to dominate on the inside, Plant landed a staggering 32 body shots across a huge round five that saw him bring the crowd to their feet with his combination of offensive prowess and showmanship.
“I noticed that he wanted to fight more on the inside,” said McCumby. “When I was sparring I had caught a lot of guys with left hooks while I was back on the ropes. It was one of my better shots. I was trying to catch him but I couldn’t get him clean enough. He adjusted well.”
He continued his positive momentum throughout the rest of the fight before closing the show in style by landing 37 power punches in round nine. At the end of the round, Plant again forced McCumby to the ropes and teed off with power shots until referee Allen Huggins waved off the bout 2:59 into the frame.
“I knew I had him hurt and had to go to work,” said Plant. “It was time to get my belt. Now I’m ready to go home and play with my daughter.”
Opening up the pay-per-view, former super lightweight world champion Rolando “Rolly” Romero (16-2, 13 KOs) earned a unanimous decision over Manuel Jaimes (16-2-1, 11 KOs) in their 10-round super lightweight attraction. Romero was victorious by the score of 99-91 according to all three judges.
In his first bout since losing his world title to Isaac Cruz in March, Romero showed improved movement and defense in keeping the aggressive Jaimes from putting his offense together effectively. Meanwhile, Romero was able to land sharp power punches on the inside that caught the judges’ attention and helped him secure the win.
“I needed a tough 10-round fight against someone hungry and that’s what I got tonight,” said Romero. “I was doing a lot of stuff tonight that I should have done in my earlier fights.”
“The judges saw what they saw, I’d have to watch the tape to be able to score it myself,” said Jaimes. “I could have been more active, that would have helped me land more.”
Romero favored the power shots throughout the night, with 81 of his 112 total landed punches being categorized as such. His best rounds came later in the fight as he connected on 19 power punches in round eight and 16 in round nine.
“Jaimes was coming forward a lot, but I was controlling the pace,” said Romero. “The fight was going how I wanted it to. In the later rounds I started coming forward more and landing more body shots. Hopefully I’m fighting for a title next. I have my eye on any of the champions.”
Prior to the pay-per-view, PBC on Prime Video action was topped by former unified world champion Stephen Fulton Jr (22-1, 8 KOs) going toe-to-toe with Carlos Castro (30-3, 14 KOs) across 10-rounds of featherweight action, with Fulton edging Castro via split-decision (96-93 Fulton, 95-94 Fulton and 95-94 Castro).
In his first fight at featherweight, Philadelphia’s Fulton was able to bounce back from being dropped by a piercing straight right from Castro in round five.
“My coaches were telling me to keep my left hand up because he was trying to get the right hand in over the top,” said Fulton. “I allowed it to get through and I had to overcome adversity.”
The fight was as close in punch stats as it was on the scorecards, with Castro out landing Fulton 167 to 159, while Fulton held a 35% to 26% edge in connect rate. Fulton was able to win the final two rounds on two of the three judges’ cards to clinch the victory.
“I could have let my hands go a little bit more,” said Fulton. “I didn’t want to box too much because I felt so good, but I could have boxed with my legs more. But I have to get back in the gym, work on my movement and come back for the world title.”
The streaming presentation also saw the Isaac Cruz Sr.-trained Ricardo Salas (20-2-2, 15 KOs) deliver a highlight-reel KO of Roiman Villa (26-3, 24 KOs) 2:06 into the third round of their welterweight clash.
Kicking off the stream was unbeaten super featherweight Geo Lopez (17-0, 12 KOs), who’s trained by the renowned Eddy Reynoso, delivering a dominant unanimous decision over Ricky Medina Jr. (15-3, 8 KOs) by the score of 80-71 according to all three judges.
These bouts streamed live via free access to all fans, regardless of Prime membership or purchase of the PPV card it led into.
