Caleb Plant and Trevor McCumby were previously slated to meet on August 17th
Those unsatisfied by the one-two punch of Canelo Alvarez vs Edgar Berlanga and Erislandy Lara vs Danny Garcia on September 14th won’t get the cavalry they craved, as organizers announced that Caleb Plant vs Trevor McCumby and Rolly Romero vs Manuel Jaimes will round out the four-fight PPV.
Plant (22-2, 13 KO) and McCumby (28-0, 21 KO) were slated to meet two Saturdays from now before McCumby suffered an injury less than a week after the bout’s reveal. An extra month of marination is not sufficient to make it palatable; Plant remains among the best at 168, especially with the Davids’ exit, while McCumby has no wins of note.
For extra hilarity, the winner will become interim WBA champion despite both men being in the bottom half of their top 10. Crowning an interim champion on the same night their mandatory challenger fights for the real title is classic WBA tomfoolery.
At least we have these clips of Ahmed Elbiali trying to jump Plant and getting his sh*t pushed in by “Sweet Hands’” crew.
“It feels good to be back. I’ve had some time away from the ring but I’ve used it wisely,” said Plant. “I’ve been in the gym since last June. I’ve sparred over 220 rounds in the past year and leading up to this fight, so I’m feeling sharper than ever. I’ve been smoothing the edges of my game and this is the best I’ve ever looked and the most complete my game has been and I think that speaks volumes to what I have left in me to prove. I guarantee that on September 14 you guys will see the best Caleb Plant yet. All I can say is, he’s going to get his ass whooped.”
“Sports mirrors life and I see Caleb Plant as the symbol for those who are keeping so many down, and now it’s my job to fight back,” said McCumby. “No matter what resources you have to use against me, I won’t be kept down. I’m inspired by everyone who fights back, and that’s the mentality I’m bringing into this matchup on September 14.”
Former super lightweight champion Romero (15-2, 13 KO) is 1-2 in his last three, a bogus “finish” of Ismael Barroso sandwiched between brutal losses at the hands of Gervonta Davis and Isaac Cruz. He gets a much lighter touch in Jaimes (16-1-1, 11 KO), a Stockton club fighter scheduled for his first ten-rounder.
To reiterate: this is what PBC is pitting against UFC 306, which features a fascinating main event between electric sniper Sean O’Malley and inhuman grappling machine Merab Dvalishvili. This does not strike me as a particularly lucrative lineup.
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