Caleb Plant is looking to make a spectacular comeback. To keep himself relevant in the super middleweight division, the former IBF super middleweight champion needs a run of good form. Currently, he is facing a slump, having suffered two defeats in his previous three fights. However, Plant will look to correct his course as he goes up against Trevor McCumby for the WBA interim super-middleweight title within a couple of hours. The fight will feature on the undercard of the Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga main event fight that will be taking place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The build-up to the fight has been steeped in bad blood. McCumby called Plant a “quitter,”  and in response, the Tennessee native vowed to deliver some “good old-fashioned a** whooping.” “For him to say that, it’s like, what? We’ll see who quits on the 14th,” Plant further stated. Therefore, before the former super-middleweight champion heads into the highly anticipated showdown, let’s delve into the background of his trainer Stephen ‘Breadman’ Edwards, and track the boxer’s growth under his mentorship.

Meet Stephen ‘Breadman’ Edwards, Caleb Plant’s coach

Notably, Stephen Edwards was hired as a coach by Caleb Plant following his first pro loss against Canelo Alvarez in 2021, when he was stopped in the eleventh round. When he got approached by Plant to be his new trainer, Breadman recommended that the two of them work together to see if they clicked or not. Fortunately, the chemistry was there between the trainer and his pupil, and Stephen has been Plant’s lead trainer for his previous two fights against Anthony Dirrell and David Benavidez.

The 32-year-old fighter’s record under his new mentor stands at 1-1. Caleb delivered a stunning performance against Dirrell, knocking him out cold in the ninth round, but couldn’t win on the judges’ scorecard in his last fight against David Benavidez Jr. Nevertheless, before getting into how Edwards prepares Plant for a fight, it is important to highlight how he started.

Growing up in Philadelphia, Edwards developed a strong affinity for boxing, watching fights with his grandfather throughout the 1980s. He never let go of his passion for the ‘sweet science’ as he continued to work out at the James Shuler Memorial Boxing Gym to stay in shape during his short stint as a student at Temple University. Even though, after college, he worked in healthcare, and transport security administration, his hunger for the sport of boxing never died. “I just knew that I always wanted to get into boxing in some capacity. “It was the love of the game. I was really confident that I’d be able to make a difference and be good at it, whatever capacity I was in,” he told the media outlet Andscape.

His big break came when a boxer named Julian Williams approached him for guidance. In 2010, he became a professional boxing trainer, taking on Williams and a few other amateur boxers. His fortunes began to change for the good as his training methods helped Williams score an upset victory over then-unified junior middleweight champion Jarrett Hurd in 2019, and he slowly began to make a name for himself in the boxing circles. What makes his journey as a trainer more remarkable is that he has never fought in the ring. He gained knowledge about the ‘sweet science’ by observing trainers and fighters in the gym. “I don’t like to say I knew a lot about boxing, but I did know a good deal about how to get a guy in shape and what to do and what to eat,” he said.

Since he started, Edwards has improved a lot as a trainer. Coming back to the present, Stephen has made quite a few adjustments to Plant’s training strategy ahead of his showdown against Trevor McCumby. “He didn’t spar in between fights really before I trained him. ‘When you’re on a schedule of one fight a year, one fight every six months, you can’t not spar. I know you think you’re getting wear and tear on your body, but the rust is going to be too hard to overcome,” he told Boxing Scene.

“For this camp, he’s been sparring two, three times a week, so when I got out here [to Las Vegas, where they are preparing], he was sharp already, so that alone will keep you sharp,” he further added. Elaborating on why frequent sparring is important, he highlighted that boxing is a “game of skill” that can only improve through repetition. Therefore, he is making sure Plant has more rounds under his belts in practice before he heads for the real battle inside the boxing ring against his upcoming opponent.

“He’s improved. He’s done exactly what I told him to do in between fights, and that is, you don’t have to go crazy, but spar four to six rounds. He’s sharp, he’s in good shape, and the world is going to see some of those new wrinkles,” he further stated.

On the other hand, Plant trusts Edwards wholeheartedly to lead him down the right path. The former world champion mentioned that although Breadman didn’t change his style, certain“tips, tricks, and ideas” from him have helped him build on his boxing repertoire. “I called him because he’s on the younger side [of trainers] and I knew he’d be hungry,” Plant recalled in the interview with Andscape. Now that we know who trains Plant, you should also know the place where he sharpens his boxing skills.

Where does Caleb Plant train?

As is the case with fight camps, for the last couple of years, Plant has been training at a gym in Las Vegas with his trainer. However, his home base is Music City Boxing Gym in Nashville. The gym advertises his name proudly as he has gone on to become a world champion in the professional boxing scene.

“Home Gym of World Champion, Caleb Plant,” the description of the gym’s Instagram profile reads. Interestingly, the gym was originally started by coach Justin Gambler to train Caleb Plant, but now it also helps people achieve their fitness goals. “We have a variety of classes that include strength training, weight training, kettlebells, and of course boxing fundamentals,” a statement issued on their website reads.

Do you think we will see a new and improved Caleb Plant when he locks horns with Trevor McCumby? Or, do you think McCumby will pull off an upset win against Plant? Let us know in the comment section below.