By Ryan Burton

LAS VEGAS - Caleb Plant (18-0) will make the first defense of his IBF super middleweight title on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena against Mike Lee (21-0).  The fight will serve as the main event of a FOX free-to-air telecast before Manny Pacquiao faces Keith Thurman in a pay-per-view showdown that will also be distributed by FOX.

At his media day last week, the Tennessee native said that he is very pleased with the work he did in this training camp and plans on making a statement.

“Training camp is finishing up good. My weight is good. There has never been any issue with weight. I’ve been eating good. Sparring is great and I am in the best shape I have ever been in. I have worked harder in this camp than I did for Jose. I’m a new animal and you will see on July 20th,” Plant told BoxingScene.com.

The Jose that Plant mentioned is Jose Uzcategui.  He dominated the Mexico based Venezuelan in January to capture his world title. The hard hitting Uzcategui is known for his power but it was Plant who scored two knockdowns in the fight.

Plant said that he hasn't really changed much of what he does in his training camps but revealed that he is actually training harder for Lee, who after campaigning his entire career at light heavyweight or above, will be moving down a weight class.

“I didn't do nothing really different. I just trained harder, throwing more punches on the bag, throwing more punches in sparring. On my mile runs I’ve been taking minutes off my time, running faster and running harder in my track workouts.  You will see in the fight," Plant stated.

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