Caleb Plant doubles down on the fact he fights for legacy
Despite the rocky road he had to traverse to get it, IBF world super middleweight champion Caleb “Sweethands” Plant (21-0, 12 KO’s) has the fight that he’s always wanted. On November 6, Plant will face WBA super, WBO and WBC 168-pound champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KO’s) for undisputed status. Once crowned, the victor will be the first undisputed super middleweight champion in history.
A TREACHEROUS TREK
It was not easy getting to this point. Sweethands first turned the fight down due to not having enough preparation time. Later, the fight would implode for reasons that are still veiled in mystery. Thankfully however, the bout was able to be finalized. Yet, instead of facing one another on Alvarez’s coveted Mexican Independence weekend however, it will take place in November. Plant is well aware that he is an overwhelming underdog heading into the biggest fight of his career. Luckily for him, he does not care what noise the haters or his detractors are talking about, as he shared in a recent informal roundtable.
“I mean, I like my chances in any fight. If I didn’t believe that I could win then y’all wouldn’t have all these cameras in front of my face right now. You know, you guys [media] have made plenty of fight predictions before and you guys have been wrong. But do you know how many times I have been wrong? None!”
“Ever since I started boxing, from my first tournament that I went to, people were telling me what I can be, what I can’t be; you know, I don’t belong in the sport, I’m never going to become a world champion. And it seemed like the more that people told me I couldn’t, the more I believed in myself. And at this point, every comment or every time someone says you can’t do it, I feel like I am even more right. So, I am just ready to for the fight.”
FOR RESPECT, NOT MONEY
As the two teams were haggling back and forth, Plant was given a great deal of grief for demanding ten million dollars for the fight. Many felt that he was being greedy while Sweethands thought he was simply acknowledging his worth. Nevertheless, the Tennessee native insists that this bout has nothing to do with the love of money.
“When I first started this journey, it was not to just be apart. Like I said, it was to be on the cover. And for there never to have been an undisputed super middleweight before, I am not doing this for the money. If I was doing this for the money then I would have jumped on the five-week camp with four weeks to train like Callum Smith did. I’m not in this for the money, I really want my name in those history books. That’s why I worked so hard. Like I said, I sacrificed a lot. I want to be in those history books and that’s why I am doing this.”
While his motives and intentions appear to be pure, we’ll have to wait to see if Plant can rise to the occasion!
By: Bakari Simpson
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