The Philippines’ Mike Plania celebrates after his 10-round fight against Joshua Greer Jr. at MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas. Plania upset the heavily-favored Greer by majority decision in their 120-pound catchweight bout. Photo from Top Rank
MANILA, Philippines — Handed with the biggest break of his career, Mike Plania made the most out of it with a stunning win over the heavily-favored Joshua Greer Jr. on Wednesday at MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas.
The unheralded Filipino fighter accepted the bout with just less than a month to prepare, but proved it was enough time to upset the No. 1 ranked WBO bantamweight contender and introduce himself to the boxing world.
“This will change my life,” Plania, who won the 120-pound catchweight bout by majority decision, told boxingscene.com through a translator. “I’ve been dreaming about this since I was a kid, and now God gave me a chance.”
Plania (24-1, 12 KOs) dropped Greer (22-2-1, 12 KOs) twice in the first and sixth round with snapping left hooks.
When the first knockdown came, Plania had thought he was already on his way to a quick surprising victory.
“I thought that he wouldn’t stand up anymore. But I was still focused and kept relaxed because you never know, anything can happen in boxing.”
With the resilient Greer applying the pressure starting in the seventh round, the 23-year-old Plania, instead, faced anxious moments in weathering a late storm.
“I was tired,” Plania said, “but not too tired. I just adjusted my game plan.”
The 26-year-old Greer, whose bid for a world title shot took a huge blow, offered no excuses following the “heartbreaker” of a loss.
“There’s no excuses from me. Mike Plania was just the better man. He was the smarter man in the end,” Greer told ESPN.
“No excuses, man. He won, I take my hat off to the winner. I gotta go back to the drawing board.”