Love or Hate Him, Caleb Plant Only Cares for Fulfilling his Boxing Dreams
On October 15, a battle of former super middleweight world champions will take place as Caleb “Sweethands” Plant (20-1, 13 KOs) takes on Anthony Dirrell (34-2-2, 25 KOs) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York in a WBC world title eliminator. It’s no secret that they do not like each other. On social media and during interviews, Plant and Dirrell have bashed each other on several occasions.
That continued during an August 30 press event to officially announce the bout. Things quickly became heated. Both men threw their share of insults and accusations. Dirrell claimed Plant is a fighter loathed by his contemporaries and called the former IBF champ ‘a pussy’. Afterward, Plant met with several boxing media members to respond to charges of being disliked.
NOT IN IT TO MAKE FRIENDS
“If they don’t want to gravitate to me, that’s fine. We’re opponents. We’re on opposite ends of the spectrum – we’re going to be competing. So, I’m not really concerned that they want to be my friends or my buddies.[…] He was making it a point to let everyone know that people in my weight class don’t like me.
[…] Why Would I be concerned with that? It almost seems like we’re having a therapy session up there. That’s not what we’re here to talk about. We’re here to talk about boxing.”
Plant’s mindset seems to be that of ‘it’s business, never personal’. The ultimate goal is to do what he has to do to get the win. If you’re cool with him, fine. But if you don’t like him, he is unbothered and keeps it moving. “Sweethands” is a man on a mission.
“Boxing is like my whole life. So, I take this really serious. Anybody looking to get in the way of my dreams and everything that I’ve worked for – that’s kind of personal to me.”
On the surface, Plant has shown the disposition of someone who is calculated and lets little get to him. Some view that attitude as cold and callous. Others say it’s old-school and keeping your eye on the prize. Whatever floats your boat, it will all play out on fight night.
It has helped carry the 30-year-old to a world title. The goal is to become a two-time world champion. As a result, anyone who dares get in the way of his path must get handled. He hopes that includes taking care of Dirrell on October 15.
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
