Caleb Plant made another case for a major fight as he won an easy 12-round unanimous decision over former champion Caleb Plant to retain the IBF Super Middleweight title at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
Plant dominated with his jab and working hooks behind it. Plant went up and down by landing body and head shots with Truax getting in an occasional right hand. Those were very few and very far between as Plant outlanded Truax 179-47.
In round four, Truax began to leak blood from his nose.
Plant, 167.6 lbs of Las Vegas won by shutout scores of 120-108 scores and is now 21-0. Truax, 167.8 lbs of Saint Michael, MN is 31-5-2.
“I felt great. I dominated every round. I hardly got touched. He wasn’t giving me much either,’’ Plant said. “I felt like, early on, he was just looking to survive and move away. Then a third of the way into the fight, I hurt my hand. It’s kind of swollen. I felt something similar before. I’ve got to sit down and get it checked out but we’ll see. I don’t think it will hinder any upcoming fights.
“A champion can adjust to anything. It’s about staying focused, staying disciplined and sticking to the game plan. Maybe the injury hindered me here and there but I felt I used it well – I got a dominant victory, a shutout on all three cards.”
“I wanted the stoppage. I’m a little disappointed that my hand got hurt early in the fight. But I feel like I put on a good performance,’’ Plant said. “I feel like I’m the best super middleweight champion in the world. I want to become the first undisputed super middleweight champion. I’m ready for whoever, whenever. You line ‘em up and I’ll knock ‘em down.”
“I’m a little disappointed. I wanted to put pressure on him and make it a dogfight, but he was elusive. He was able to escape out the back door. I wasn’t able to put a glove on him,” Truax said. “I knew he was going to be quick, but he was a little more elusive than I expected. It wasn’t a fast paced fight and credit to him for that. I wanted it to be a fast paced fight and put pressure on him, but he controlled the pace and he was very elusive.
“I was never buzzed or hurt. I felt like my conditioning was very good the whole fight. He just jabbed the heck out of me. I’m going to go home and talk to my family and see what the next step is. I still feel like I have something to offer the game.”
Coffie Starches Rock in 3
In a battle of undefeated heavyweights, Michael Coffie took out Darmani Rock in round three of a scheduled 10-round heavyweight bout.
Coffie landed a crushing left uppercut to send Rock down early in round three. Later in the round, it was a left hook that put Rock down and out at 59 seconds.
Coffie, 270.2 lbs of Brooklyn is 12-0 with nine knockouts. Rock, 261 lbs of Philadelphia is 17-1.
“He had quick hands we knew that, but timing beats speed,” Coffie said. “They said he shuffles his feet and drops his hands. They told me to wait for him to shuffle his feet and then drop that left hand on him.”
“I don’t want to sound like I’m jumping the gun or anything like that or downplaying the need for experience. But I don’t think I’m that far off. I think I have power, movement, and I think just my style of fighting that can really contend with anybody.”
Joey Spencer remained undefeated with a 1st round stoppage over Isiah Seldon in a middleweight bout.
In round one, Spencer dropped Seldon with a hard right. Upon the fight being resumed, Seldon was deducted two points for hitting behind the head. Seconds later, Spencer dropped Seldon with a hard right and the fight was stopped at 2:15
Spencer, 158 lbs of Union City, MI is 12-0 with nine knockouts. Spencer, 156.6 lbs of Somers Point, NJ is 14-4-1.
“I just knew that I was going to put hands on him, and that’s how I was going to retaliate. I definitely put in the back of my mind that maybe I’d punish him a little further if I would have gotten a chance. But I didn’t. The ref stopped him, and that’s the way it ended,’’ Spencer said. “My man strength is coming. I’m only 20. I turn 21 in March. I’m getting stronger and stronger. I’m getting a lot more confident because people aren’t able to take my punches in the same way.”
Barthelemy Decisions Rivera
Former world champion Rances Barthelemy won a 10-round unanimous decision over All Rivera in a super lightweight bout.
In round two, Rivera was cut on his right eyelid from an accidental headbutt. In round three, Rivera was cut around his left eye.
Barthelemy landed 179 of 548 punches; Rivera was 62 of 367.
Barthelemy, 142.8 lbs of Las Vegas won by scores of 97-93, 99-91 and 100-90 and is now 28-1-1. Rivera, 143.2 lbs of Santa Rosa City, PHL is 21-5.
“After almost two years of being out of the ring, it was hard making sure we stuck to the game plan to make sure we didn’t get anxious or desperate,” Barthelemy said. “I felt we controlled the fight from start to finish and that’s exactly what we wanted to do. I’m looking at Alberto Puello next, going after that 140 WBA belt and hoping that sets us up for bigger opportunities before the end of the year.”
Oberlton stops Sharp in 3
Atif Oberlton stopped Nathan Sharp in round three of a scheduled four-round light heavyweight bout.
In round three, Oberlton landed hard body shots until Sharp wilted, and the fight was stopped at 48 seconds.
Oberlton, 177.4 lbs of Philadelphia, was a National Golden Gloves champion, and was making his pro debut. Sharp, 177.6 lbs of Merced, CA is 4-3.
Brandon Lynch and Marcos Hernandez battled to an eight-round draw in a middleweight bout.
Lynch landed 99 of 361 punches; Hernandez was 75 of 525
Lynch won a card 77-75; Hernandez took a card 78-74 and one card was even at 76-76.
Lynch, 158.2 lbs of Los Angeles is 10-1-1. Hernandez, 160 lbs of Fresno, CA is 14-4-2.
