Mike Plania upset one of the highest-ranked bantamweight contenders in boxing Tuesday night.
Plania’s representatives believe it’d be best, however, if the Filipino fighter uses the most noteworthy win of his five-year career to land a junior featherweight title shot. The 23-year-old Plania officially weighed 119½ pounds for his 10-round, majority-decision upset of Joshua Greer Jr. at MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas.
They fought at a contracted catch weight of 120 pounds, exactly halfway between the bantamweight maximum of 118 and the super featherweight limit of 122. Plania hasn’t competed at the bantamweight limit in two years, thus his handlers don’t think he can make that weight anymore.
“He’s not fighting at 118,” Sean Gibbons, Plania’s adviser, told BoxingScene.com. “We’re looking for a title shot for him at 122. He’d be happy taking on any champion he can get a shot at, at 122 pounds.”
Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc. has contractual options on Plania (24-1, 12 KOs) now that he has beaten Chicago’s Greer (22-2-1, 12 KOs), whom Top Rank co-promotes. Top Rank also co-promotes Japanese star Naoya Inoue (19-0, 16 KOs), the IBF/WBA bantamweight champion.
Greer entered his fight against Plania as the IBF’s second-ranked challenger for Inoue’s title. He also is the WBO’s number one contender for Johnriel Casimero’s bantamweight championship.
Nevertheless, making 118 pounds again doesn’t seem physically possible for Plania, even for an opportunity as huge as challenging Inoue.
“It would be ugly,” Gibbons said of Plania draining himself to make 118 pounds. “You can say, ‘Oh, he got to 119½. What’s one pound?’ Well, one pound might as well be a hundred pounds at a certain point. The body just tells you, ‘No more. That’s it.’ ”
At 122 pounds, Top Rank co-promotes Emanuel Navarette, the WBO junior featherweight champion.
Mexico’s Navarette (31-1, 27 KOs) will compete in a 10-round featherweight fight against journeyman Uriel Lopez (13-13-1, 6 KOs) on Saturday night in Mexico City. Navarette likely will remain at the featherweight limit of 126 pounds following that non-title bout, which would eliminate him as a potential opponent for Plania as well.
Plania is the WBA’s 10th-ranked contender in the 122-pound division and the IBF’s 12th-rated challenger in that weight class. Uzbekistan’s Murodjon Akhmadaliev (8-0, 6 KOs) owns the IBF and WBA titles in that division.
Whatever happens next, Gibbons is extremely pleased Plania produced a life-changing victory by upsetting Greer.
“This is what I live for,” Gibbons said. “I’m not happy for myself. I’ve been through a lot of great victories, and I get excited. But to see the raw emotion from a kid that works his whole life to get to this point, and then wins a fight like this, this is what matchmaking is all about. It’s what I’m in boxing for. It’s not about the money. It’s about changing lives, and I’ve done that. I’ve changed a lot of lives along the way.
“I’ve had a lot of guys who would never get opportunities fight for world titles through my little bit of maneuvering, picking and choosing in certain spots. This is the real thrill, seeing the project all the way through. And we’re not all the way done yet, until he gets a world title, until he knocks somebody out and wins.”
Plania knocked down Greer once apiece in the first and sixth rounds, each time with a quick left hook. A resilient Greer came back and pressured Plania, who tired noticeably over the course of the final four rounds.
Plania still won on the cards of judges Tim Cheatham (96-92) and Patricia Morse-Jarman (97-91). Judge Dave Moretti scored their fight a draw (94-94).
“At the end, they got it right,” Gibbons said. “That’s all that matters. I’m just happy for Mike, who sacrificed a lot. He stayed here [in the United States] during this pandemic, working, working, working, and now he’ll get a good opportunity.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
