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Caleb Plant’s chances of remaining champ in his latest title defense proved to be a sure bet—literally for at least one Vegas bettor.
The undefeated IBF super middleweight turned in a dominant performance in a 12-round shutout of mandatory challenger Caleb Truax in their Fox-televised main event Saturday evening at Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles. Plant won by scores of 120-108 on the cards of judges Max DeLuca, Dr. Lou Moret and Zachary Young, which in turn produced a net profit of $5,700 from a $285,000 bet placed at SuperBook sportsbook at Westgate Las Vegas.
A total payout of $290,700 was generated from a bet placed on Plant, who was a 50-1 favorite at the time of the placed wager.
Plant (21-0, 12KOs) made the third successful defense of his super middleweight title which he has now held for more than two years. The 28-year old from Las Vegas by way of Ashland City, Tennessee was able to get the job done despite reportedly injuring his left hand in “the fourth, fifth round” as told to Fox Sports’ Heidi Androl following Saturday’s main event on Fox in primetime.
The bout marked just the second time in his seven-year career where Plant faced a current or former major titlist, yet still carried lopsided odds. Truax (31-5-2, 19KOs) is on the wrong side of his prime at age 37 but was still just three years removed from having held the very belt which was at stake on Saturday evening.
Plant was also a significant favorite to trump Vincent Feigenbutz and Mike Lee, scoring stoppage wins in each of those title defenses. Plant entered as a slight betting underdog heading into his first title fight, which took place barely two miles away from Saturday’s venue, as he outpointed Jose Uzcategui to win the belt at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Next on his list could come the biggest fight of his career, as Plant remains a person of interest in the 2021 plans of boxing superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (54-1-2, 36KOs).
Such a bout could represent an undisputed super middleweight championship showdown which could take place as early as September. Alvarez—who holds the WBC/WBA titles—still has ahead of him a mandatory title defense versus Avni Yildirim (21-2, 12KOs) on Feb. 27 in Miami, followed by a tentatively scheduled three-belt unification clash with unbeaten WBO claimant Billy Joe Saunders (30-0, 14KOs), which is eyed for the first or second weekend of May in celebration of the Cinco de Mayo holiday.
Plant would likely enter such a fight as the underdog, though would arguably represent Alvarez’s toughest test in the super middleweight division.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox