Thursday afternoon at the AC Hotel in downtown Nashville, IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Plant (19-0, 11 KOs), hailing from nearby Ashland City, and Vincent Feigenbutz (31-2, 28 KOs), the hard-hitting mandatory from from Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, Germany, went face-to-face a final time before Saturday’s big fight at Bridgestone Arena.

 

The presser was held on the hotel’s 21st floor, in the Americana Ballroom, bookended by the Rockabilly and Bluegrass conference rooms. With floor to ceiling windows and, it being an overcast day, clouds seemingly close enough to touch, and with the Country Music Hall of Fame visible on the street below, it was a beautiful setting for what we hope will be a beautiful night of boxing. Rumors have been circulating that ticket sales are lagging. That is hardly surprising, given the paucity of fights in Music City, and the arena’s seating capacity of 20,000 adds fuel to the fire of endless rumormongering. But however many people show up Saturday night, and the more the merrier, the gate is a relatively minor player in the general scheme of things, especially when compared to the revenue generated by TV.  

 

Plant and Feigenbutz were joined on the dais by four other fighters who will be showcased on that portion of the card televised live on FOX and FOX Deportes. Welterweight contenders Bryant Perrella (17-2, 14 KOs), the stylish southpaw from Fort Myers, Florida, and Abel Ramos (25-3-2, 19 KOs), the come-forward warrior from Casa Grande, Arizona, will compete in the 10-round co-main event, while the first fight of the night features lightweight contender and Nashville native Austin Dulay (13-1, 10 KOs) and two-time title challenger Diego Magdaleno (31-3, 13 KOs), the rugged southpaw from Las Vegas.

 

Diego Magdaleno was the first fighter to speak.

 

“I’m no stranger to anything,” he said. “Any of the darkness, any of the brightness, I’ve been under the light plenty of times before for this opportunity. It’s just another knock on a new door for me and explore what’s on the other side. I always put my heart in every round of every fight. I’m just ready to rock ‘n’ roll and do my work here.”

 

Next up was Austin Dulay.

 

“We’ve been training our whole life for a moment like this to prove what we have to offer the sport,” he said. “I’ve been training the hardest I ever trained for this fight Saturday night and showing the world what we got.”

 

Bryant Perella approached the lectern and said, “Saturday night I’m coming in to put on a dynamic display of boxing. I’m a consummate athlete, driven to conquer and succeed in this sport. I’ll be in there with a tough and experienced fighter, but he’s never experienced what he’s about to be in the ring with. Tune in—because Abel won’t be able to do a damn thing. He ain’t ready for this spaghetti.”

 

Abel Ramos had less to say, but appears ready to fight.

 

“I want to thank God for allowing me to be here what I do best,” he said. “I’m just proud to be here, to do my best, and I’m ready to put on a show for you guys Saturday night.”

 

Vincent Feigenbutz doesn’t speak English, but his remarks were translated for those in attendance.

 

“My name is Vincent Feigenbutz. I come from Germany. I am 24 years old. I’m very happy to be in Nashville. People have been very nice to me. We are prepared for the fight, with a short and intensive preparation, on short notice. Thank you very much.”

 

As befits the headliner, Caleb Plant was the last man to speak.

 

“This is something I worked for literally my whole life,” he said. “I sacrificed everything for this world title. Since I was a kid, it was a dream of mine, not only to fight in Nashville as a world champion, but to be defending my world title at Bridgestone. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to keep this world title. For however long it takes to hold my breath underwater I’ll do it. He can’t hold his breath as long as me. He hasn’t had to. Anyone who knows me knows he can’t hold his breath like I can.

 

“They’re already making excuses. He said they took this fight on short notice. Don’t believe that. A world championship fight is eight weeks long. We’ve had at least 10 weeks since we’ve both known about it. He’s up here saying he took the fight on short notice. No he didn’t. That’s a lie. If you want to take the belt back to Germany, you have to kill me. I don’t think he’s man enough to do that. So I’m telling you, this belt’s staying right here in Nashville.”

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Plant/Feigenbutz Media Workout