Going into the weekend, all signs pointed to a future grudge match between Caleb Plant and Jermall Charlo — but someone forgot to tell 26 year-old Armando Resendiz.
Resendiz (16-2, 11 KOs) scored a massive upset against Plant (23-3, 14 KOs) on Saturday inside Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, defeating the former IBF super middleweight champion via split decision. Two judges scored it for 116-112 for Resendiz, while a third scored it 115-113 for Plant.
The result likely sidelines a potential bout between Plant and Charlo (34-0, 22 KOs), who did his part by knocking out Thomas LaManna in the sixth round on Saturday. Charlo’s win came in the co-main event before Plant fell as a 25-1 betting favorite.
“I knew everybody was going to be against me,” Resendiz said through an interpreter. “On paper, of course it was like that. But I believed in myself and my corner believed in me. I didn’t really worry [about the split decision]. I left it all to God. I didn’t worry at all. I knew it was a tough fight, a great fight.”
Plant, whose only two prior losses came against Canelo Alvarez and David Benavidez, said he thought he’d done enough to win but mostly stopped short of strongly disputing the scores.
“I felt like it was close, and in close fights, sometimes it swings the other way,” Plant said. “I felt like I had enough control, using my jab. The judges saw it the other way. What can you do? I felt like I did good. I was patient. I wasn’t the better man tonight, I guess.”
Resendiz, of Mexico, strongly asserted himself as the better man over the last six rounds. The first half of the fight was very competitive, with Plant dictating some of the action with his jab and short hooks on the inside. Resendiz started to hurt Plant in the later rounds, however, as he unloaded power shots to the body and opened a cut over Plant’s right eye.
The focus might actually now turn to a bout between Resendiz and Charlo, who hadn’t fought since November 2023. Charlo has fought only twice since the start of 2021 but looked outstanding in his 168-pound debut on Saturday. He dropped LaManna in the third and fourth rounds, before a ringside physician advised the referee to call things off just one second into the sixth round.
