By Jake Donovan

Caleb Plant’s next fight has changed from a homecoming to a home-staying.

The unbeaten super middleweight titlist has for months been tied to a voluntary defense versus undefeated Mike Lee. The pairing remains intact, but will now land in Plant’s adopted home region of Las Vegas, Nevada atop the July 20 edition of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Fox.

PBC representatives declined comment when asked to confirm; news of the fight date and location—which three sources have informed BoxingScene.com as being finalized—is expected to be announced during Saturday’s PBC on Fox show, topped by unbeaten 154-pound titlist Jarrett Hurd in a mandatory defense versus Julian Williams.

Plant (18-0, 10KOs) will make the first defense of the title he claimed in a thrilling 12-round decision over Jose Uzcategui this past January in Los Angeles, Calif. The bout topped the inaugural installment of the rebranded PBC on FS1 series, serving as the highest rated boxing telecast in network history.

It was hoped that Plant, originally from Ashland City, Tenn., would be afforded a first title defense in Nashville, less than an hour from his hometown. He came home shortly after his title win, where he was granted the key to the city and with the ceremony officially hailed as Caleb Plant Day.

There was interest among local markets, including the brass at Bridgestone Arena which is the home to the National Hockey League’s Nashville Predators and whose location is in the heart of downtown Nashville.

Those plans changed in recent weeks, though, with the command decision to relocate the bout to Las Vegas. In keeping the locked-in date, the bout could serve as a primetime lead-in to a Fox Pay-Per-View later that evening, as the date has long been attached to a potential welterweight showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Keith Thurman.

Chicago’s Lee (21-0, 11KOs) will enter his first career title fight. The Notre Dame University graduate and one-time Subway spokesperson will also come down from his natural light heavyweight division where he has campaigned for the bulk of his nine-year career.

With the initial assignment of Lee came the tease of the fight landing in Chicago, where the fringe contender has long served as a viable draw. That plan never evolved past preliminary talks, with a more concentrated effort to bring the fight to Nashville before eventually landing in Las Vegas, where Plant relocated to along with head trainer Justin Gamber upon transitioning from prospect to contender.

The unbeaten titlist was afforded a voluntary defense as he is presently without a mandatory challenger. That void was to be filled in April, only for a final eliminator between Caleb Truax and Peter Quillin to end in a no-contest after a clash of heads left Truax with a gruesome cut over his right eyelid.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox