Can Jermall Charlo, Caleb Plant gain steam on collision course?
Caleb Plant and Jermall Charlo will compete in separate fights as part of a Prime Video event on Saturday at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
Plant (23-2, 14 KOs) will defend the WBA super middleweight interim title against Armando Resendiz (15-2, 11 KOs) in the main event, while Charlo (33-0, 22 KOs) will end an 18-month layoff against Thomas LaManna (39-5-1, 18 KOs) on the co-main.
Should both Charlo and Plant emerge victorious, a planned fight between the two will reportedly take place later this year. A Plant-Charlo fight would generate a lot of interest due to their history outside of the ring.
Plant is the former IBF super middleweight champion who last fought in September, when he stopped Trevor McCumby in the ninth round. Charlo has held world titles at junior middleweight and middleweight, with plans to become a champion in a third weight class as he now campaigns at 168 pounds.
There’s a lot on the line for both fighters in their respective matchups, and ESPN takes a closer look at how we got here.
What’s at stake?
Plant and Charlo are at different places in their careers, with questions surrounding their respective futures.
Charlo, 35, has never lost in the ring as a professional, but for the former two-division champion, his inactivity is a cause for concern.
This fight with LaManna will allow fans to see if he is still as good as he was during his WBC middleweight title run when he was a pound-for-pound fighter. A win sets up a major showdown with Plant, while a loss, or even a subpar performance, could throw a wet blanket on the idea of a potential fight between the two.
“I think the fight with Plant is just as big as a fight with Canelo [Alvarez],” Charlo told ESPN. “Every fight is a big fight but that is a fight that needs to take place … we just have to take care of business first.”
Unlike Charlo, Plant, 32, has been active throughout his career and faced two of the best fighters in the world in recent years when he squared off with Canelo and David Benavidez. Although he came up short in both contests, Plant cemented his place as a major player, however, he has yet to win the big one.
The Charlo-Plant rivalry
The rivalry between Plant and Charlo dates back to July 2023, when footage surfaced of an altercation between the two fighters. Plant was seen slapping Charlo backstage at the Terence Crawford–Errol Spence Jr. weigh-in at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Plant claims that he retaliated after Charlo disrespected his wife and repeatedly grabbed him by the beard.
“A man has a right to defend himself,” Plant said on Instagram Live after the incident. “A grown man touched another grown man in his face, pulling on his beard really hard. I had the decency to tell you not to do it again … and you immediately grabbed my face even harder after I just asked you not to … you made it real hard on a guy when you do that in front of his wife and his peers.”
The incident set the stage for a potential showdown between the two, where they could settle their differences. The only thing standing in the way was a difference in weight. That was remedied by Charlo, who has moved up and is now campaigning at super middleweight.
Charlo told ESPN that he has spoken to Plant since the incident and while a fight between the two is still on the table, the bad blood has subsided for the time being.
“What we said to each I’ll keep between me and him, but I respect him as a fighter and a father,” Charlo said. “But we want to fight each other.”
Plant wouldn’t go as far as to say that the beef with Charlo is squashed but stated that any hard feelings are on the back burner while he focuses on Resendiz.
“First things first and that’s handling business on May 31,” Plant said at a recent workout. “If Charlo can handle his business, or whatever happens in the co-main event, I’m looking for that winner. … If he’s able to handle business, me and Charlo can run it.”
Charlo’s long layoff
After starting his professional career 30-0 from 2008 to 2019 and winning world titles in two divisions, Charlo’s career ascension stalled due to Injuries and legal issues.
In August 2021, Charlo was arrested and charged with three counts of second-degree felony robbery after an alleged altercation with a waitress at a club in July in San Antonio. He was cleared of all charges. Charlo was arrested again in February 2022 and charged with “assault causing bodily injury of a family member” stemming from a 2021 incident where he allegedly assaulted his 21-year-old nephew. That case was later dismissed.
He was arrested again after a road accident in May 2024 and cited for driving under the influence, fleeing from a police officer and leaving the scene of the accident.
He hopes to break the trend of inactivity with his fight against LaManna this weekend.
“I want to be busier,” Charlo said. “I want to fight three times this year. Maybe fight again in August or September and one more time in December.”
Charlo was last in action in November 2023. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Before that, he hadn’t fought since retaining his WBC middleweight title against Juan Macias Montiel in June 2021. Rumored fights with Jaime Munguia, Maciej Sulecki, Carlos Adames and Canelo never came to fruition, with the latter ending up going to his brother, Jermell Charlo, in September 2023.
“It feels good to be back,” Charlo said. “I’m surprised everybody thinks that I’m about to be a different fighter now. Even though I’ve been away, I’ve been working in the gym. I don’t understand it, but it makes me feel like the underdog heading into this fight.”
Charlo is going back to his roots
For this fight, Jermall and Jermell reunited with their first trainer, Hylon “Big Ced” Williams Sr., the man who taught them how to throw a jab as preteens and guided them through their amateur and early pro careers.
“I needed to get back to my roots,” Charlo said after years of working with legendary boxing trainer Ronnie Shields. “I needed someone who knew how to push me and bring that energy out of me. I needed someone who knew me.”
Williams’ relationship with the Charlo family dates back to before the twins were born. “Big Ced” had met their father, Kevin, in the 1980s at Job Corps and trained him as both were in the boxing program in McKinney, Texas. Years later, Kevin wanted to ensure his twins were doing something productive to stay out of trouble and asked Williams to train his sons in the sweet science.
The brothers amassed a combined record of 121-14 in the amateurs before turning pro, with Jermell starting his pro career in 2007 and Jermall following in 2008. Williams would eventually hand off the boys to Shields early in their professional careers, and remained in the corner but slowly faded out of the picture as the brothers reached new levels.
Williams stayed in touch with the twins’ father, and during Jermall’s recent period of inactivity, Williams decided to reach out and check in. Those conversations started with words of encouragement and eventually led to Williams being back in their corner, as Jermall believed that going back to where it all started would get his career back on track.
“[Training camp] was like a family reunion,” Williams told ESPN of having Jermall and Jermell back under his wing. “For this fight, I think you will see a rejuvenated version of Jermall Charlo.”
Plant’s motivation
Although Plant is an accomplished fighter who has made a lot of money in his career, the fact that he has lost in the biggest fights of his career (Canelo and Benavidez) still nags at him.
“I have a lot on the line,” Plant said at Thursday’s final news conference. “[Resendiz] may have nothing to lose, but I have everything to lose.”
For Plant, proving that he is one of the best fighters in the world remains a priority. A loss to the unheralded Resendiz would ruin those plans.
“A lot of athletes care more about the money and the fame and obviously money is important, right? But that’s not what makes me tick,” Plant said at Thursday’s news conference. “I’m a competitor and I’m a winner. I’ve been a winner my whole life and regardless of whatever money I’ve made or accomplishments I’ve done, that’s not what wakes me up in the morning. It’s to continue to add to my legacy and see how much I can run it up until my time expires and it’s time to ride off into the sunset with my family. And that’s not anytime soon.”
Plant is 2-2 after starting his career with 21 consecutive wins. He may have overachieved in the eyes of many but believes he is only scratching the surface of his potential and cannot afford to come up short on Saturday.
“What I crave is to be a winner and a champion,” Plant said at a media workout earlier this month. “I want to cement my legacy and show my children firsthand what it looks like to work hard at something. Have I fallen short a couple of times? Yeah, but I did it with integrity and the way a warrior would do it. If you fall short, you dust yourself off and you keep going.”
Source: espn.com