According to reports, former super middleweight world champ Caleb “Sweethands” Plant (22-2, 13 KOs) is scheduled to return to the ring for the first time since his grueling decision loss to David Benavidez in March of 2023. The 32-year-old is set to headline the first free-to-air Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) show on Amazon Prime.
Slated to be Plant’s opponent is once-upon-a-time top prospect Trevor McCumby (28-0, 21 KOs).
Plant has been run through somewhat of a gauntlet in recent years, taking on Caleb Truax, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Anthony Dirrell, and Benavidez in his last four bouts and emerging with a 2-2 record.
Over the last year or so, Plant has been more visible for his outside-the-ring exploits– slapping Jermall Charlo backstage at the Errol Spence-Terence Crawford card, having words with super middleweight contender Edgar Berlanga at the Canelo Alvarez-Jaime Munguia weigh-in, and getting into an altercation with Ryan Garcia following the Gervonta Davis-Frank Martin event last month. He’s also picked up some fandom as a social media voice of reason in recent months.
The return to the ring signals a return to the hunt at super middleweight, where Canelo Alvarez still holds all the world title belts, but is starting to give of the vibe that he may not be unified champ for long– whether through defeat or from vacating titles. Plant retains a Top 10 ranking in both the WBA and WBC.
The 31-year-old McCumby is three fights back into a career that was put on pause for five years. The native of Yorkville, Illinois, who now lives in Glendale, Arizona, is best known for his one-round blowout of Donovan George in 2016, which was later changed to a no contest when he tested positive for two banned substances and admitted to taking a prohibited IV infusion to rehydrate after the weigh-in.
Former super bantamweight champ Stephen Fulton is rumored to be on the Plant-McCumby undercard.
Paul Magno has over forty years of experience in and around the sport of boxing and has had his hand in everything from officiating to training. As a writer, his work has appeared on Yahoo Sports, Fox Sports, Fight Hype, Max Boxing, Boxing.com, Inside Fights, The Queensberry Rules, Overtime Heroics, Bleacher Report, and Premier Boxing Champions. He is currently the owner and managing editor or The Boxing Tribune. You can follow his Twitter/X account, @boxing_tribune, for breaking boxing news, analysis, and sometimes NSFW commentary. For Advertising, Inquiries, etc., send him an email here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com