Caleb Plant vs. Caleb Truax super middleweight odds, preview, and pick

The Caleb’s collide on Saturday, Jan. 30 when Caleb Plant (20-0) defends his IBF super middleweight title against former champion Caleb Truax (31-4-2).

We have the preview and pick you need to be a big winner on fight night.

Skill vs. will

The undefeated Plant is considered by many to be one of the best pure boxers in the sport. He has speedy hands, excellent punch selection, and good physical gifts, but he’s not a particularly good puncher. That might be Truax’s saving grace. There’s a good chance Truax will go the distance, but an upset is highly unlikely here given the enormous disparity in skill between these two fighters.

Even considering Truax’s greatest triumph, a shocking win over James DeGale that came ages ago, he’s always been a journeyman who has fallen short against the big guns of the division. Unless Plant gets careless, those long odds are as solid as they come.

Can Plant stop Truax?

Plant is on the shortlist for a showdown with Saul Alvarez, so carrying Truax won’t do him any good if he wants to force the biggest fight of his career. He’s going to need to put a heavy beating on Truax, but Plant has never shown remarkable power against mid-tier opponents. His speed should be enough to begin to overwhelm Truax from the start, but he’s going to need to put a lot of punches together to force a stoppage.

Truax likely sees this as his last chance at a world title. He might be overmatched, but he’s brave, and he’s going to be given every chance from his corner to at least go the rounds. We’ve seen Truax get torched before, but Plant doesn't have the same punching power as previous opponents Anthony Dirrell or Daniel Jacobs. If he can lay down enough shots, he might be able to earn a silent submission.

Truax is severely overmatched

We’re looking at a Tyson/Douglas level of upset should Truax pull this off. He simply hasn’t shown that kind of class outside of his fluke win of DeGale, and Plant is a younger fighter in his prime staring down the biggest fight of his career. Plant doesn’t have the power to stop Truax, so this fight will go the distance, and Plant will retain his title on the scorecards.

Pick: Plant