(Steve Marcus via Getty Images)
May has been a month of major upsets in boxing — and Armando Resendiz’s shocking victory over Caleb Plant may be the biggest of them all.
Resendiz dethroned Plant of his WBA interim super middleweight title by split decision (116-112, 113-115, 116-112) on Saturday night in the main event of a Premier Boxing Champions card at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Had Plant beaten Resendiz, he would’ve likely faced Jermall Charlo later this year. But just as Rolando “Rolly” Romero did in early May by beating Ryan Garcia and scuppering plans for a Garcia-vs.-Devin Haney rematch, Resendiz ripped up the script by upsetting Plant, and now could find himself in position for a Charlo fight in the second half of 2025.
Plant (23-3, 14 KOs) began the contest well, using his active left hand to keep the shorter Resendiz (16-2, 11 KOs) at bay. The former super middleweight champion built up a lead through five rounds, however, Resendiz took over from there.
Resendiz’s first breakthrough came in the final minute of Round 3, when he landed a left hook on Plant that backed him onto the ropes, similar to how Trevor McCumby hurt Plant this past September. Resendiz continued to pour the pressure on Plant, specifically targeting his body and outlanding him on the inside.
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The tide turned massively in the sixth round when Resendiz rocked Plant with a short right hand and forced the former champion to hold onto him as the Mexican continued to land clean punches on Plant.
Resendiz increased the tempo of his pressure on Plant in the second half of the fight, outworking him in every round. Plant chose to throw in singles, while Resendiz had success with combinations at short- and mid-range. Plant didn’t have the energy to match Resendiz’s activity and found himself being bullied on the back foot and onto the ropes all throughout the final few frames.
In the end, it should’ve been a clear win for Resendiz, however, one judge still favored Plant by two rounds at 115-113, while the other two scores had Resendiz up by four points at 116-112 — as did Uncrowned’s unofficial scorecard.
In the night’s co-main event, Charlo (34-0, 23 KOs) ended an 18-month layoff with a sixth-round TKO win over Thomas LaManna (39-6-1, 18 KOs). Charlo dropped LaManna in Rounds 3, 4 and 5, and was closing in on a finish when the ringside doctor advised the referee to stop the bout at the beginning of Round 6.
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Catch full Plant-vs.-Resendiz results and highlights below, as well as play-by-play of the main card.
Main Card
WBA interim super middleweight title: Jose Armando Resendiz def. Caleb Plant via split decision (116-112, 113-115, 116-112)
Super middleweight: Jermall Charlo def. Thomas LaManna via sixth-round TKO (doctor stoppage)
Middleweight: Yoenli Hernandez def. Kyrone Davis via unanimous decision (100-89, 100-89, 100-89)
Super welterweight: Isaac Lucero def. Omar Valenzuela via second-round TKO | Watch video
Lightweight: Curmel Moton def. Renny Viamonte Mastrapa via unanimous decision (80-72, 80-72, 80-72)
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Super bantamweight: Carl Martin def. Francisco Pedroza Portillo via unanimous decision (79-72, 78-73, 78-73)
Super lightweight: Justin Cardona def. Elijah Williams via split decision (79-72, 77-74, 75-76)
Super middleweight: John Easter def. Andres Martinez via unanimous decision (59-53, 59-53, 59-53)
Super welterweight: Cristian Cangelosi def. Samuel Figueroa via majority decision (78-74, 77-75, 76-76)
