Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard will have some free time on his hands now that the team has officially shut him down for the rest of the NBA season. He is turning his attention directly to his other passion of boxing, sharing who he believes should next challenge NABO super middleweight champion Edgar Berlanga.

“Caleb Plant vs Edgar Berlanga next… I think Plant top level fighter. Just fought two guys who are on that same level and we’re better that night,” Lillard Tweeted shortly after his unfortunate news broke.

Caleb Plant suffered his first professional loss against Canelo Alvarez in late-2021 and was just defeated by David Benavidez in an interim title bout Lillard was closely watching and reacting to this past Saturday. It went the full 12 rounds, but Benavidez himself thought the referee allowed his opponent to lean on him far too long and would have otherwise knocked him out.

Nevertheless, it was an admirable effort by Plant, and one Lillard believes warrants a shot at another undefeated fighter. Berlanga has been making headlines of late after he left his old promotion Top Rank and signed with Matchroom back in February. He has not defended his title since he was suspended for attempting to bite Roamer Alexis Angulo in June 2022. He is expected to get back in the ring this June, but Plant was not necessarily someone fans had pegged as his next opponent.

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Damian Lillard had been dealing with a calf injury on and off throughout the season and had missed the last three games. Portland is five games out of 10th place, the final spot in the Western Conference NBA Play-In Tournament. It makes little sense to throw their hobbled 32-year-old franchise star out on the court in meaningless action.

The 2023 All-NBA candidate will be able to use the remaining two weeks of the regular season to further engross himself in boxing, which he uses as part of his training regimen. Perhaps, he has enough influence to get the wheels in motion on what would undeniably be a big-time fight between Plant and Berlanga.