TOMORROW evening, in the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Canelo puts his three remaining 168-pound straps on the line against Edgar Berlanga. Before the main event, there is an eclectic mix of fighters ready to show they still have it.
In fact, that appears to be the underlying theme of the undercard: do I still have what it takes at the top? Let’s see who PBC has tasked to prop up the show.
Erislandy Lara vs. Danny Garcia
This fight was supposed to happen last year but ended up temporarily canned and rescheduled. Despite his age and declining mobility, Lara’s skillset, timing and punching power remain intact.
Garcia has been increasingly inactive while steadily climbing the weights. He may still drop back down to 154 for another run if he loses to Lara. Regardless of the outcome, Garcia can lend his credibility and star power to the stagnant 160-pound weight class tomorrow evening.
Danny is tough and durable, doesn’t throw a lot of shots, but has great timing and is able to setup the big punches. However, has his power travelled up with him to such an elevated weight class?
Moreover, how much more does Garcia want to dedicate to boxing? He’s been in the sport a long time and has business interests outside of the ring.
Meanwhile, Lara, now 41, has mixed with some big guys across his career. There’s no shame in losing to the likes of Jarrett Hurd and Canelo, two sizeable physical units, while also being competitive to the point of contention. Unable to match that, the smaller Garcia will need something up his sleeve to avoid a heavy loss.
Caleb Plant vs. Trevor McCumby
This fight is all about levels. McCumby has played the character all fight week, trying to get under Plant’s skin. We already know how good Plant is. What level is McCumby? This could turn out to be a big step-up in class. One glance at his record (which looks pleasing on the surface) reveals that he has never mixed anywhere near this class before.
Plant possesses ring IQ, speed, and punch-picking ability. McCumby is tough and straight forward. Can he replicate Benavidez’s approach for 12 rounds? If not, then he might be made-to-order for Plant’s skillset.
That said, Plant hasn’t been the most active himself of late. If fatherhood and business interests have consumed his mind to such as degree then the pressure and physicality of McCombie could bother him late on. Assuming McCumby is still around by that point.
McCumby will see Caleb as a man who has reached the summit and is now rolling back down. Plant will use his opponent’s aggression against him, luring him in to walk on to shots.
One long-running theme across Plant’s career has been his conditioning. We’ve seen him fade in the second half of fights against Uzcategui, Canelo and Benavidez, i.e. the better fighters on the block. However, he still managed to grit it out in two of those three bouts.
Disposing of Trevor McCumby is a must if he is to return to the table with the likes of Canelo and Benavidez. David Morrell has moved up to light-heavyweight. Christian Mbilli or Diego Pacheco might fancy a crack if Plant looks beatable here. Jermall Charlo might appear out of the woodwork in what would be an on-brand move for PBC matchmakers.
In his most recent outing, on Pro Box, following a strong start against Christopher Pearson, McCumby’s approach became laboured and predictable. Plant showed against Dirrell that his power carries. This could be competitive for a while and may end very suddenly.
Stephen Fulton vs. Carlos Castro
Playing second Philly fiddle to Danny Garcia, this fight, against Carlos Castro, will tell us a lot about Stephen Fulton, a year past his beating at the unrelenting fists of Naoya Inoue.
Once upon a time, Castro was highly thought of in some quarters. Back-to-back losses to Luis Nery and Brandon Figueroa left Castro exiting a 2022 to forget. He’s strung together three consecutive wins since then, albeit against opposition way below Fulton’s level.
Or, Fulton’s previous level, before the Japanese shelling. Both men have sound fundamentals, so it could be a chess match for the early portion. Fulton will have four extra pounds to play with at the new featherweight limit. Castro is a decent size.
Now training under Bozy Ennis, if he can get back to the pre-Inoue levels then the pick is Fulton on points. The battle could be mental as much as physical across 10 tough rounds.
Rolando Romero vs. Manuel Jaimes
Rolly is back and ready to add his own mixture of hilarity and complexity to the undercard. People enjoy watching him, mostly tuning in to see him lose or look bad. Romero, of late, has not left them disappointed.
Under new coach Ismael Salas, Rolly may be finally ready to ditch the physical, awkward style that made his name, in favour of more cautious, jab-led boxing. The elbows, grabbing, hooking and wrestling suited him and while those tweaks might be sound in principle, the fighter loses the benefits of unpredictability.
Jaimes is a little-known fighter who burrows in and uses volume to overwhelm opponents. Romero will look to find gaps and hurt Jaimes as he rolls forward and throws combinations.
If Romero’s power does not impact Jaimes then this could turn into a real fight. Romero struggled with the punch volume from Isaac Cruz and Jaimes will bring that same kind of pressure. The longer it goes, this one could get interesting.
