Caleb Plant is hungrier than ever!
In the world of boxing, it’s often said that winning a championship title fills the newly-crowned fighter with a renewed sense of confidence. IBF super middleweight champion Caleb “Sweet Hands” Plant (18-0, 10 KO’s) would agree.
However, he is also quick to say that he never lacked the requisite self-belief in the first place!
Plant would rather show than talk about all the great attributes that he’s acquired since unseating Jose Uzcategui on January 13. Luckily for him, Sweet Hands will be climbing back into the ring July 20. That’s when he will makes his first title defense against Mike “White Bear” Lee (21-0, 11 KO’s).
In a recent phone conference with the press, Plant pulled no punches when relaying his candid thoughts regarding his upcoming foe.
“I think it’d be hard to not be more confident after winning a world title and not just one that was an easy one to knock out of the park. Jose was considered the boogie man of the division, someone nobody wanted to fight.
“I came in after a year layoff, broke hand, hand surgery, no tune-up fight and I knew I could get the job done. But I don’t feel validated in a sense of what I’ve accomplished. I’m happy but I’m not content. So, as I said, I’m gunning for him July 20.”
If nothing else, you have to label the Nashville champion as ‘consistent’.
Despite being more recognized for his defensive prowess than destructive offensive might, Sweet Hands has done nothing but vow to knockout Mike Lee. Some have written the repetitive threat off as standard pre-fight trash talk.
Traditionally speaking, when talks about Caleb Plant are raised, his thunderous power is rarely the topic of conversation. Instead, almost universally, the discourse will revolve around Plant’s envy-inspiring defensive prowess. Even by Plants own admission, hand injuries are a large part of why his defensive skills are so sharp to begin with.
Plant’s Time to Shine
Old injuries, low KO percentages and the sometime belief of outside spectators mean nothing to the IBF champion! He is coming for blood and nothing short of it.
“They can expect fireworks. They can expect an entertaining person, an entertaining fighter and Mike Lee won’t make it out the final bell. So, either he’ll bail out before the final bell or I’ll bail him out myself.
“But either way, the white flag is coming out. I’ll wave it for him so it’s going to be one or the other!”
For Sweet Hands, it’s not that he lacks respect for Mike Lee or that he is overlooking the bigger man. Instead, the Nashville native simply believes it’s his time. For Plant, impressively stripping Uzcategui was merely the beginning.
He didn’t want to become a single belt champion and stop. Plant has every intention on collecting all the belts.
“The goal was not just to become a world champion. That was just one goal […] If I’m not mistaken, there’s never been an undisputed super middleweight champion. So that’s my goal, to become the first undisputed super middleweight champion of the world.
“But first things first, handle business on July 20.”
By: Bakari Simpson
