NASHVILLE—No matter whom he faces in the ring, Caleb Plant will insist it’s not a style he hasn’t already seen.
His next opponent, Vincent Feigenbutz promises to change that perception when they meet this weekend at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee (Saturday, FOX, 8:00pm ET/7:00pm central and local time). For obvious reasons, he’s not giving away the family secret although the suggested mode of attack he has revealed will most certainly be a different look.
“I am going to hop around like a rabbit,” Feigenbutz (31-2, 28KOs) jokingly told BoxingScene.com during his scheduled media workout Wednesday afternoon at Music City Boxing Club in Nashville. “Plant will never have a chance to hit me.”
Not only would it be a new technique for which Plant (19-0, 11KOs) will have to contend in the second defense of his super middleweight title, but it also completely abandons the mode of attack for every Feigenbutz fight to date. The former interim titlist from Karlsruhe, Germany enters his stateside debut riding a 10-fight win streak, all but one coming inside the distance and a grand total of none offering anything resembling a cute boxer.
In stark contrast, Feigenbutz generally shows up on fight night to hit, often at the expense of getting hit. It makes for entertaining affairs, such as his two-fight set with Italy’s Giovanni De Carolis, which saw Feigenbutz claim a competitive 12-round decision to retain his interim title before suffering a dramatic 11th round knockout loss in their rematch just three months later.
Among his most notable accomplishments since then came a 6th round stoppage of veteran contender Ryno Liebenberg. Their bout took place just hours before—and half-a-world away from—Plant’s final non-title fight to date, when he outpointed Rogelio Medina to earn his place in line for the super middleweight crown. The unbeaten former amateur standout from Ashland City—less than 45 minutes from downtown Nashville—claimed a belt in his next fight, outpointing exiting titlist Jose Uzcategui last January in Los Angeles.
One defense has followed for Plant, a 3rd round stoppage of Mike Lee last July in his adopted hometown of Las Vegas. Seven months later comes his first true homecoming, and his first ever fight in his birth state of Tennessee.
Naturally, his opponent promises it to be the local hero’s last night as a defending champion.
“You will have to see on fight night,” Feigenbutz promises, though naturally without tipping his hand as to how he plans to pull off the upset. “I am going to win regardless. What I will bring to the ring is going to be very different than Plant expects.
“The win will come as it comes. I don't know when, I won't predict when, just that I will win the title. Otherwise, we could have just stayed home.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
