The undefeated IBF World Super Middleweight Champion enjoys successful return to his native Tennessee, dominating mandatory challenger Feigenbutz and stopping him Saturday night on FOX.
Undefeated IBF World Super Middleweight Champion Caleb “Sweethands” Plant made sure he wasn’t hit with the hometown blues.
Fighting at Bridgestone Arena in his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee on Saturday night, Plant (20-0, 12 KOs) put on a virtuoso performance, masterfully stopping Vincent Feigenbutz (31-3, 28 KOs) at 2:23 of the 10th round in the FOX PBC Fight Night main event.
“I was super fueled, I could have gone all night,” Plant said. “The whole city came out. Nashville stand up. I felt great. I was relaxed, sharp, I told you guys I would stop this fight before the 12th round."
About the only lull Plant had was in the sixth, when he leaned against the ropes, inviting Feigenbutz to rush in an unload. The German’s offense, however, was stymied. After Feigenbutz’s barrage of shots were either blocked or smothered, Plant responded by shaking his head and blowing a kiss to his counterpart.
Otherwise, Plant worked up and downstairs. He cleaved Feigenbutz’s high guard with uppercuts, then dropped thudding lefts and rights to the body. Feigenbutz couldn’t match Plant’s hand speed.
By the ninth, Feigenbutz’s face was a bloody mess. Plant’s frenetic attack had busted up his nose and both of his eyes were swollen.
The punishment was becoming too much for Feigenbutz to bear.
Referee Malik Waleed began taking a closer look, wisely stopping it in the 10th after another hail of Plant punches could not be answered by the courageous German challenger.
Plant, who landed a total of 202 total punches to Feigenbutz’s 47, seems to be getting better and better with each outing. Afterward he called out fellow undefeated world super middleweight champion, David Benavidez.
“Everybody knows I want that unification fight with David Benavidez,” said Plant. “You know who the best 168-pounder is. If you want that, you have to come see me. I’ve been wanting that fight. I’ve been asking for it. I’m tired of waiting.”
Abel Ramos pulls off a dramatic late KO over Bryant Perrella
One second. That’s what was left. One second. It saved Abel Ramos. One second. It spelled Bryant Perrella’s doom.
Round after round, Perrella outboxed Ramos. He was able to get out of harm’s way when Ramos tried pressing him. It looked like Perrella was heading to a unanimous 10-round welterweight decision.
But no one, apparently, told Ramos the fight was over.
One devastating left uppercut jolted Perrella’s head back and he collapsed to the canvas in the waning seconds of the 10th and final round. He made it to his feet but, moments later, a right hand deposited him on his trunks for the second time. Referee Jack Reiss reached the count of nine, when the 10-second, round-ending clapper sounded. Perrella was visibly in trouble.
Reiss thought he was in too much trouble and ended it with one precious second left.
At the time of the stoppage, Perrella (17-3, 14 KOs) was up 88-83 on judges David Hudson and Benoit Roussel’s scorecards, and 87-84 on Mike Fitzgerald’s card.
“This is boxing,” Perrella said. “It’s like Meldrick Taylor and Chavez. These things just happen. I’m not going to take anything away from my opponent. I was winning every round convincingly. What can I say? There was second left in the 10th round. It’s like a needle in the haystack. It is what it is.
“Everything was going well and I was winning the fight, round by round. I don’t know. This is boxing. That’s the thing about the sport. It is what it is. There’s nothing I can do about it. I’m not going to make up any excuses or take anything away from my opponent. It’s just an experience that you go through in life and you have to overcome it. Absolutely I’d like to do it again with him. We can get a rematch in for sure."
Ramos (26-3-2, 20 KOs) won for the eighth-straight time.
“I know the fight’s not over until it’s over,” Ramos said. “That’s the game. I’ve been sick for two weeks. But no excuses. I wanted to come here and perform.
“I watched the Chavez-Taylor fight like 10 million times and I never thought I’d be in something like that. It just goes to prove that fights are never over till it’s over. You have to fight every single second of every single round.
“Perrella’s a tough fighter. He’s a strong, strong fighter. I have nothing but respect for him. I expected a tough fight and that’s what happened.
“I want all the welterweights. I’d like to have another big TV fight and go out there and prove myself."
Diego Magdaleno spoils Austin Dulay’s homecoming
In the televised opener, former world title challenger Diego Magdaleno (32-3, 13 KOs) may have resurrected his career, upsetting the hometown guy, 24-year-old fellow southpaw lightweight Austin Dulay.
Magdaleno scored a 10-round unanimous decision over Nashville native Dulay (13-2, 10 KOs).
It had been two years since Magdaleno last won. Judges Mike Fitzgerald (96-92), David Hudson (96-92) and Benoit Roussel (97-91) broke that rut by awarding Magdaleno for his relentless body attack.
“I knew mentally I could break him down,” Magdaleno said. “If I attacked the body, I knew I could break him down. He’s a young prospect. He’s taller than me so my plan of attack was to get in close and go to the body.
“Experience has everything going for me. In my previous fight, I lost my head. This time I took my time. My camp said slow it down. Happy for the victory tonight.”
Dulay used his quickness to tag the 33-year-old Magdaleno early on. In the second, he nailed Magdaleno with a straight left that stirred a few oohs and aahs. Dulay closed the round with a good left-right combination.
Magdaleno came alive in the fourth, landing a right hook and pressing Dulay. He continued to attack in the fifth, bouncing a four-punch combination off Dulay and gaining confidence.
With :01 left in the round, referee Jack Reiss stopped the fight after Magdaleno looked like he landed a low blow. Reiss warned him to keep his punches up, or he would be forced to take a point away, as Dulay was in the opposite corner recovering.
By the sixth, Magdaleno was in charge, throwing and landing more. Then with 2:10 left in the seventh, Magdaleno dropped Dulay with a counter left to the solar plexus. Magdaleno tried forcing the action, with sporadic interruptions from Reiss, who was cautioning him about keeping his shots up. About a minute later, Reiss got tired of Magdaleno’s low shots and took a point from Magdaleno when he dropped Dulay on a low blow.
Still, Magdaleno remained the busier fighter, pounding Dulay, particularly to the ribcage. In the last 20 seconds of the 10th, another body shot appeared to hurt Dulay.
Afterward, Dulay was in disbelief.
“I absolutely won the fight,” Dulay said. “Every round he was hitting me low and, in the back, and on the hips. It was more times than he got called for. I won that fight 100%.
“I boxed the hell out of him every round, making him miss, catching shots, countering. Yeah, he hit me with a few good body shots. That doesn’t replace the heavy shots that I hit him with every single round for 10 rounds straight. That is madness. And it was a unanimous decision? That’s crazy. That’s unbelievable to me.
“Even Diego just told me that he had nothing to do with the decision. He knows. How can they do that to me in my hometown? That’s dirty man.”
For a closer look at Plant vs Feigenbutz, check out our fight night page.
