Although rising prospect Joey Spencer and super middleweight contender Caleb Plant are at different points in their pro careers, both men share a relationship that has already helped Spencer.
Spencer introduced himself to Plant at Spencer's second professional fight, which was at the Armory in Minneapolis in April 2018. Prior to meeting each other, Spencer already looked up to and admired the 26-year-old Plant as they have similar boxing styles.
Even when they don't have a fight, they talk here and there and the elder boxer refers to Spencer as his little brother. Now the two will share a ring as both are scheduled to fight in separate bouts on a PBC card in Los Angeles on January 13 that will be aired live on FS1. On that event, Spencer will look to improve to 6-0 as a pro while Plant will do battle against Jose Uzcategui for the IBF super middleweight world title.
Since the two met, Plant has attended all of Spencer's fights, offering support along the way. For Spencer, that means a lot to him having that kind of support early in his career.
“He’s a really big role model of mine in the sport. The fact that we fight kind of similarly. He also is early in his career before winning a world championship. He’s 17-0 and I’m 5-0 and it gives me a glimpse into the future on how things are going to go for me. It shows me that I’m going to keep getting fights in the future and being near to the future when I fight for a title in the next couple of years,” Spencer said in an exclusive interview with Fightful.
As far as what kind of wisdom Plant shares with the 18-year-old boxer, Spencer reveals that it boils down to encouragement and reminders to stay relaxed and have fun with his career.
“It’s mainly been a lot of encouragement. He tells me to keep doing my thing and stay relaxed. Every time he sees me victorious in my fights, he’s super supportive of that. Basically, he tells me to keep doing what I’m doing because right now, it’s all about learning and having fun, so that’s what I’ve been doing,” Spencer said.
But one thing that Spencer does take away from studying Plant is his career arc. At just 17 fights contested, Plant is already challenging for a world title, following in the footsteps of other young boxers to fight for a title with less than a dozen pro fights. Although Spencer is still a teenager and has just five pro bouts heading to his January 13 fight, Spencer is already gunning for gold within a couple of years.
“It’s all about the world championship. If they can do it at 20 and 21 years old, then I definitely can. That’s how I look at it. That’s how they found their way in their career, just like Caleb. The fact that he’s only got 17 fights as a professional and he’s fighting for a world title puts me at about 2020 when I have that many fights. I think Gervonta Davis won his title when he was 17-0. That’s what I look at. I look at their careers and how they went and I’m just looking forward to getting started into that championship contender level as soon as possible. I’m definitely looking at them and when I’m 20 years old, I’m going to track down those titles," Spencer said.
The PBC card will not only feature Spencer and Plant in separate bouts, but also have Guillermo Rigondeaux fight for the first time since 2017 as he competes on the prelim card, also to be aired live on FS1.
