Jermall Charlo hasn’t thrown a punch in anger since 2023, but the Houston native is already swinging verbal haymakers at Caleb “Sweethands” Plant. Speaking in Las Vegas ahead of Saturday’s Prime Video double-header, the unbeaten former two-division champion dismissed Plant’s pop, questioned his reflexes and predicted a straightforward win when the two finally share a ring this Saturday.
“Plant doesn’t hit hard, and he’s starting to look old,” Charlo told reporters, recalling the slap-and-shove melee the pair shared at last year’s Crawford–Spence weigh-in. “He snuck me, but he couldn’t drop me. When we fight, my pressure and my power end it.”
First, both men must negotiate potentially tricky stay-busy bouts at Michelob Ultra Arena. Charlo meets seasoned spoiler Thomas LaManna over ten rounds, while Plant headlines opposite bruising Mexican middleweight Jose Armando Resendiz. Charlo insists Plant is secretly hoping LaManna springs the upset, sparing the Tennessean a high-risk grudge match that could vaporise his hopes of another Canelo payday.
Plant’s last outing, which was a nine-round firefight with Trevor McCumby in which he was wobbled early before rallying late, has emboldened Resendiz’s camp. If the 26-year-old can replicate McCumby’s pressure, an upset is not out of the question, and Charlo would lose a lucrative dance partner. “It’s a mind game,” Charlo said. “He doesn’t want me next, but we’ll fight regardless.”
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Image Credit: PBC