Caleb Plant comes off canvas to stop McCumby in nine

Caleb Plant went hard to stop Trevor McCumby in a gritty fight.

Caleb Plant had to get up from a fourth round knockdown, but stormed back to overpower Trevor McCumby en route to a ninth round stoppage win on the Canelo vs Berlanga undercard.

Plant (23-2, 13 KO) was a heavy favorite coming in, but did show some rust after an 18-month layoff, and had to sort of grow into the fight. He definitely had to do that once it was clear that underdog McCumby (28-1, 21 KO) was here to fight, as he brought some power shots to the former titleholder early, and scored that knockdown, caught on the shoulder.

Whether he’ll admit it or not, Plant seemed to “wake up” from there, and the dog came out of him, as he stood in the pocket and bullied McCumby both physically and mentally starting in the fifth round, leading to the referee stopping the fight right before the end of round nine.

The win nets Plant the interim WBA super middleweight title, which does not need to exist given that the WBA champion, Canelo Alvarez, is active and fighting on this same card.

“I think I proved that I can (fight) on the inside,” Plant said. “I’m a true champion. I can fight through anything. I was relaxed, he just caught me off-balance. I fell down, but I got back up, went to work, and got that stoppage.”

“You guys know I’m up for the biggest challenges, and we’ll see,” Plant said of what he wants to do next, saying first he’ll go home to spend time with his family.

For the 31-year-old McCumby, it’s obviously a setback on the surface, but it was also a game, gritty performance in by far the biggest fight of his career, and an outing he can be proud of that will only raise his profile. There should be good offers out there for his own return, even coming off of the defeat.