Armando Reséndiz shocks former world champion Caleb Plant and wins the WBA interim super middleweight title.
Armando Reséndiz pulled off a major surprise in a real super middleweight boxing thriller: The Mexican defeated former world champion Caleb Plant by split decision in the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. The main fight was broadcast live on Prime Video.
After twelve intense rounds, two judges scored the fight 116-112 in favor of Reséndiz (now 16-2, 11 knockouts), while a third official saw Plant (23-3, 14 knockouts) ahead 115-113. Reséndiz thus secured the interim WBA super-middleweight world title. The current world champion in this weight class is Saul “Canelo” Álvarez, who will defend his titles – WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO – against Terence Crawford in Saudi Arabia in September. Reséndiz boxed aggressively right from the start and put Plant under pressure with constant forward pressure. He repeatedly managed to bridge the distance and land hard, spectacular punches – especially with his right hand.
Plant was disappointed after the fight, but not surprised: “It wasn’t as if he was constantly putting me under pressure. He caught me once with a good overhand right, that was okay. But apart from that, nothing really hit me or impressed me,” said Plant in the official interview after the fight.
Reséndiz, on the other hand, was confident and proud: “I knew that everyone would be against me. On paper, of course, he was the favorite. But I believed in myself. My team believed in me. And we did exactly what we set out to do.”
With this victory, Reséndiz moves up into the world elite and could soon be in the title race against the super middleweight elite himself.