Jermall Charlo still wants Caleb Plant showdown despite Armando Resendiz shock win

Jermall Charlo insists he's still eager to fight Caleb Plant despite his rival suffering a surprise defeat to Armando Resendiz in Las Vegas.

Plant's bout with Resendiz was supposed to be a warm-up bout, but his 12-round split decision loss served to highlight that such interim fights never go according to plan.

Resendiz, 16-2 (11 KOs), outworked and outlanded Plant throughout the course of the contest and won on two judges' scorecards by identical 116-112 scores to inflict the American's second straight loss.

Plant blamed an injured right hand in the immediate aftermath of the fight, with the 32-year-old stating he is "more than willing to run it back" after it was revealed there is a rematch clause.

In the other co-main event in Las Vegas, Charlo made a successful return to the ring as the unbeaten two-division champion defeated Thomas LeManna by a sixth-round TKO.

Charlo, 34-0 (23 KOs), led 60-52 on all three scorecards at the time of the stoppage and didn't need to shift out of second gear in an authoritative performance.

“I know I just got a victory and I’ve been inactive, but my goal is to be more active,” Charlo said in his post-fight press conference. “I’m not perfect, but my record is.

I want to fight Canelo and I want to fight Plant. I want to take those big fights if they are there.

Despite Resendiz's triumph which saw him capture the interim WBA super middleweight title, Charlo says he has no intention of fighting the Mexican.

“I’m not here to bash nobody or talk down on nobody, but Caleb Plant dropped the ball on this one,” Charlo added.

"I still want my lick back. I don’t care if he got the belt [WBA interim super middleweight title] or not. We can make a belt. They can make a belt. Somebody make a belt.

“We got to go back to the drawing board with this one. Plant dropped the ball. He looked out of shape. He couldn’t have fought me tonight."

If Charlo is to get his wish of a showdown with Plant, it appears increasingly likely that the undefeated star must wait to see if Plant avenges his loss to Resendiz.

Jaquob Crooke

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