I've never been a huge fan of Caleb Plant, although I've gained respect for Plant in recent years.
Plant dropped a surprising split decision to Armando Resendiz (due to my grandmother's passing, there was no boxing challenge that week) and showed why moving away from tough competition during a fighter's development doesn't hurt them only during the early stages of their career.
Plant was never tested (other than in his title win over Jose Uzcategui), building his career, and even in his title defenses, he faced soft touches such as diet pitchman Mike Lee and the legendary Vincent Feigenbutz, which ill-prepared Plant for bigger and better opponents.
Plant fought bravely against Canelo Alvarez and David Benavidez, and both are better fighters than Plant, so it's understandable that Plant lost those two fights, but losing to Resendiz was a surprise. There are two reasons why.
The first is that Plant just hasn't fought enough.
Plant has fought once a year every year since 2020, except 2021 when he decisioned Caleb Truax in January and lost to Canelo Alvarez in November, which is still a ten-month layoff.
Plant is a talented boxer who (except for his explosive knockout of the washed-up Anthony Dirrell) lacks the pop to trouble elite fighters such as Alvarez and Benavidez; his boxing skills need to be razor sharp if he is going to have a chance to defeat world-class competition.
Plant cannot be prepared to fight excellent fighters at his peak when he fights so infrequently. Some of that can be blamed on his promoter, PBC, who have similar problems with several fighters under their tent; the fighter always deserves some blame for inactivity.
Plant made millions of dollars for his fight with Canelo Alvarez, so he doesn't have to fight as much or even at all, but by fighting so infrequently, he hurts his chances for success.
The second reason isn't mentioned as often- Plant's lack of challenges as he progressed through the prospect stage not only didn't help him develop then, but it would become a hindrance later in his career.
Plant's only semi-name before winning the IBF title was over a shot Porky Medina and while his title win over Jose Uzcategui was notable at the time, Uzcategui would never defeat a solid opponent after the fight which could have meant that Plant caught him at the right time.
Plant wasn't prepared for a fight against an opponent who would push him to the limit, yet should fall in the end because PBC had matched him so softly.
This would not affect Plant in his losses to Alavrez and Benavidez as those fighters were superior and his win over Anthony Dirrell was a snore-fest decided by one Plant blow that ended the fight, but it could have come into play in his recent loss to Armando Resendiz.
Plant won at least three if not all of the first four rounds but as Resendiz began to win rounds, Plant didn't have any answers on how to turn the fight around against a fighter that he was capable of defeating.
Had Plant been better seasoned before reaching the top of the sport perhaps he would have known what to do against Resendiz when the road got rough.
Caleb Plant had talent and was able to win a world championship and made a big pile of money over his career.
Plant fought with heart and never stopped trying in his defeats, so he won my respect in his losses more than in his triumphs.
Plant isn't the type of talent to dominate a division but he's a solid top five to top eight fighter who could have won a title in a specific situation (he would do just that) .
However, his career could have been even better with opponents who would have tested him more as a younger fighter and staying more active once he reached the top of his division.
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