NASHVILLE—The fight wasn’t necessarily over at the weigh-in, but the writing was already on the wall for Vincent Feigenbutz regardless of the result of his second bid at a major title.

The 24-year old former interim titlist from Karlsruhe, Germany was undersized and significantly outgunned in his super middleweight title bid versus Caleb Plant, who delivered a showcase performance at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, less than 45 minutes from his Ashland City, Tennessee hometown. Feigenbutz (31-3, 28KOs) went in with a sound game plan, but it went awry in a hurry despite his hanging tough before suffering a 10th round stoppage loss in their Premier Boxing Champion (PBC) on Fox headliner.

“The strategy was to tag the body for the first four rounds, having [Plant] slow down,” Nisse Sauerland, Feigenbutz’s promoter told BoxingScene.com. “I think he slowed down marginally in rounds six and seven, but then got his second wind. He put his foot to the pedal and it was over.”

Plant registered the second defense of his super middleweight title, having campaigned full time in the division since 2016 after moving up from middleweight to better fit his 6’1” frame.

Feigenbutz—who appears shorter than his listed 5’10 ½” height—has fought in the 168-pound division since November 2013. He has rarely come close to filling up in weight and for Saturday’s bout was the second lightest he’s weighed since moving up for good. Even at the morning-of second-day weigh-in—as mandated by the International Boxing Federation (IBF), whose title Plant has held since last January—Feigenbutz only then hit the 168-pound limit, at a point where he was permitted a 10-pound replenishment weight gain.

No matter what he weighed, the outcome of Saturday’s bout would have remained the same. However, it is a reality check that perhaps a return to middleweight—which remains even more lucrative than today’s super middleweight market—will best suit his career needs.

“Look, Vincent still can become something in the sport,” insists Sauerland. “He’s only 24, he turned pro at the age of 16. He didn’t have any real amateur career and is sort of still learning. Maybe after this, he can drop back down to middleweight. He’s weighing in way too easily.

“This is me thinking of the idea. I believe he will carry a lot more power at that weight and the guys there are more his size. You can see it quite clearly in the ring, the aesthetics were obvious. Caleb is a true super middleweight and you saw it (Saturday night). I can see Vincent faring better at middleweight, and I don’t even believe he’d struggle to make weight quite honestly.”

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