Caleb Plant made a successful first defense of his IBF super middleweight title on Saturday (Photo: Stephanie Trapp – TGB Promotions)

By Chris Robinson

Caleb Plant successfully defended his IBF super middleweight title on Saturday night, stopping an overmatched Mike Lee in the third round inside of the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV. Later tonight, inside of the same venue, eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao will face off with WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman.

Plant dominated the fight, scoring a knockdown in the first and two more in the third before the action was halted.

“It went exactly how I planned it would go,” Plant (19-0, 11 KO’s) said afterwards. “Absolutely. I’ve been telling you all week it wasn’t going to go 12 rounds and I stuck to my word and I tried to do that. I hope you guys had a good time. I tip my hat to Mike (Lee) because it takes a true champion to step between these ropes. But it’s ‘And Still’ just like I predicted.”

An eventual fight for Plant may be the winner of the Sep. 28 meeting between WBC super middleweight champion Anthony Dirrell and former champion David Benavidez.

“Oh yeah, we can definitely unify,” Plant said. “I ain’t hard to get a hold of. I ain’t hard to make a fight with. Come see me. You know my advisor.”

Stay tuned for more updates from the Pacquiao vs. Thurman show.

Chris Robinson can be reached at CRobinson@hustleboss.com