RINGSIDE
Armando Resendiz on May 31. Going into the fight, Plant was ranked No. 4 behind champion Canelo Alvarez, Christian Mbilli (No. 1), Diego Pacheco (No. 2) and Osleys Iglesias (No. 3). Mora and Mannix believed Plant deserved to be ranked higher. Mannix, who seemed perplexed that Plant was “No. 5” (behind champ Canelo and three contenders), brought up a social media post the former IBF titleholder put out regarding his Ring ranking. The 32-year- old veteran noted that he’s accomplished more than anyone in The Ring’s top 10 apart from Alvarez. Plant’s right about that, and there’s no shame in losing to the 2021 version of the Mexican superstar or to David Benavidez, who held the No. 1 ranking when they fought in March 2023. Plant, who lasted into the 11th round against Canelo and went the distance with Benavidez, won his share of the early rounds vs. both. Mora said those performances, plus a chilling ninth- round KO of Anthony Dirrell in 2022, merited the No. 1 spot in the rankings. Mannix agreed and theorized that the Ring Ratings Panel placed Mbilli, Pacheco and Iglesias ahead of Plant based on their “potential” and unblemished ledgers. “The only thing they have better than Caleb Plant is an undefeated record,” said Mannix. “That’s all they got going for them right now when stacked against Caleb Plant. Not true. They’ve got activity. And, as my buddy Steve Kim loves to remind the boxing community, that matters. Plant’s been a once-a-year fighter since the loss to Alvarez. That’s four bouts (counting Resendiz) since the start of 2022. During that three-and-half-year period, Mbilli (28-0, 23 KOs) has fought eight times (with a bout scheduled for June 27 as we went to press), Pacheco (23-0, 18 KOs) has
Caleb Plant was derailed by a rejuvenated Jose Armando Resendiz.
fought 10 times (with a bout scheduled for July 19), and Iglesias has fought nine times. Plant was The Ring’s No. 2-rated super middleweight following the Benavidez showdown. However, he didn’t fight for more than a year following the loss, so he was dropped from the rankings. Beating Trevor McCumby last September got him back in the rankings at No. 4. McCumby was unbeaten (28-0) but also unproven, and Plant struggled (including a fourth-round knockdown) before earning a ninth-round stoppage. Mbilli, Pacheco and Iglesias have yet to face any world-beaters, but each has soundly defeated opponents equal to or superior to McCumby in recent years. Mannix dismissed their opposition as he did Resendiz and the unheralded Mexican’s chances against Plant. He then prophesied that Plant would make a “star turn” after stopping Resendiz and Jermall Charlo (who fought in the May 31 co-feature), which would set up a big showdown with Edgar Berlanga (whom he assumes will get past Hamzah Sheeraz). Mora said Plant would take over the 168-pound division once Alvarez retires and “dominate for two or three years.”
Slow down, guys. Plant had his sweet hands full with Resendiz, who roughed up the proud stick-and-mover down the stretch of the 12-round bout to earn a split decision (that should have been unanimous). I don’t bring all this up to make Mannix or Mora eat crow. I respect both and enjoy their podcast. I’m just sticking up for the Ratings Panel, which rates fighters on performance and quality of opposition, not merely wins or losses. Tevin Farmer is The Ring’s No. 9-rated lightweight despite going 0-3 in his last three bouts. That’s because Farmer arguably beat top contenders Raymond Muratalla and William Zepeda in 10-rounders last year and gave Zepeda hell in a 12-round rematch in March despite suffering an injured left elbow. And the Ratings Panel hasn’t turned its back on Plant despite him losing three of his last five bouts. He only dropped to No. 6, which I think is generous.
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