By Robert Segal: Former WBO super middleweight champion Caleb Plant says his goal is to get a rematch with Canelo Alvarez after he defeats Anthony Dirrell and cleans out the 168-pound division.
Plant (21-1, 12 KOs) says he’s going to try to set up a fight with David Benavidez next, but if he “acts like a chump,” he’ll immediately move forward and broker a fight against Jermall Charlo.
Those are the two guys Plant wants and needs to put him in a strong position for a rematch with Canelo.
The third guy at 168 that Plant should fight to help win a rematch with the Mexican star is Demetrius Andrade, who just moved up in weight after vacating his WBO 160-pound title.
Plant, 30, will be coming off a ten-month layoff and an 11th-round knockout loss to Canelo last November when he takes on former two-time WBC 168-pound champion Dirrell (34-2-2, 25 KOs) in the co-main event on the card Deontay Wilder vs. Robert Helenius at FOX Sports PPV at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Dirrell possesses the kind of power that can give Plant a lot of trouble if he runs out of gas like he did against Canelo and Jose Uzcátegui. If Plant tires against Dirrell, he could get knocked out. Dirrell has too much power for Plant to spend against him.
“Being at that level and everything that came with it,” Caleb Plant said on Brian Custer’s site. “I felt like I was well prepared, but now that I’ve been through it, I’ll be able to carry that experience with me into these bigger fights.
“There are some things that I would do differently, but I’m going to keep them to myself. I’m going to clear the division and then I’m going to get a rematch. [with Canelo]. In the rematch, you will be able to find out and see what is going on.
“People can say what they want, but in most of my fights and in the Canelo fight, I was throwing more punches and landing more punches than most of my opponents.
“If they’re supposed to throw more punches than me, why do they stand and look at me? If I don’t hit hard enough, why don’t they go through it?
“In the Canelo fight, he was doing really well; I was doing fine. I got caught with a shot. That happens in boxing big time. When two great fighters meet, one of them will fall short.
“That was me this time. I got that experience and I can take it with me moving forward in these other big fights. I am much more experienced.
“With the type of fight against Canelo and doing as well as I did, he wanted a big fight back,” Plant said when asked why he chose the 37-year-old Dirrell to fight for his comeback after losing to Canelo.
“I could have taken a nameless name and gotten my feet wet, but I wanted to carry this momentum and get the biggest name I could and the biggest fight I could. This was what I was able to get, and here we are.
“He’s not going to the Hall of Fame, and he hasn’t had a successful title defense,” Plant said of Dirrell. “He wants to act like this isn’t something he’s seen before. I come from a fight against Canelo and I had a great performance.
“José Uzcátegui would have knocked him out. Rogelio Medina would have given him a lighter. It’s not something he hasn’t seen before.
“He can say what he wants to say and act how he wants to act, but the bell will still be ringing on October 15 and we are going to find out.
“I have no bad blood with him. He’s just another guy getting in my way, as far as I’m concerned. I don’t know what he’s talking about, ‘I’m walking hard all the time’.
“Show me which boxer doesn’t think he’s good or thinks he’s the shit. I’m sure he thinks he’s good and he thinks he’s the s***, but when I think about it, it’s different. Why? Why isn’t it okay for me to think I’m good and I’m the man?
“That doesn’t make any sense to me. And other things like, ‘I hate him.’ I don’t know what the deal is about her. That is for him to take and live with. He is just another guy in my way as I get back to the top of the division. On October 15 I am going to teach you a lesson.
“Now Breadman is with me. We have great chemistry. We’ve known each other for a long time. He is a great coach and he knows a lot of things. He and my dad get along very well.
“Camp is going very well. This is the best camp I have ever had. You’re going to see the best Caleb plant you’ve ever seen. On October 15, tune in and get the pay-per-view, and you’ll see the new and improved Caleb Plant firsthand.
“After Dirrell, I plan on making the biggest fight I can in the super middleweight division. If it’s David Benavidez, then that’s the fight I want to do,” Plant said when asked if his next fight would be against David Benavidez.
“If they’re acting silly or funny because they say a lot of things, but behind closed doors, they’re not the same things they say. They say they want to fight, even though I already have a fight lined up.
“They want it to look like I’m dodging. If you wanna act funny, then I’ll take a step [Jermall] I chat, and we’ll make that fight happen. I’m not messing with any of those guys.
“I’m going to yell at Dirrell, and I’m going to take a step towards David or Charlo, and we can make any of those fights happen. They [Team Benavidez] He already had a fight lined up with Lemieux, which was for the interim belt.
“That fight with me could have been for the interim belt. She has been crying from fighting Canelo. Why would he risk the interim belt to fight Canelo? He only says things for the media, and they both lie a lot.
“I am looking to become the undisputed champion. I’m looking to clean up the division and get my rematch with Canelo. But first things first, I am fully focused on October 15 against Anthony Dirrell.
“I have no other fights in mind. I don’t mind fighting anyone else right now. I’m going to finish the plate of food in front of me and then I’m going to move on to the next one.
“Yes, absolutely. Whatever I have to do to clean up the division,” Plant said when asked if he would be interested in fighting Demetrius Andrade at 168.
“To get my rematch with Canelo, that’s what I’m focused on, and that’s what I want to do. First things first, I’m just focused on Anthony. I have two other big fights that can be done on the PBC side. I will not reject anyone.
“Yes, that is a fight I want. That is a fight the fans want and boxing needs. So I’m going to step straight into that, and again, if we can’t do it because they’re being funny or silly like they have in the past, then I’m going to step straight into Charlo to see if I can. make that fight,” Plant said when asked if he would ultimately fight Benavidez next.
“You can use it to motivate yourself, but I don’t take it personally because nine times out of ten, the people who talk badly about you haven’t been in your shoes. They haven’t been doing what you’re doing.
“He’s a clown,” Plant said of Dirrell, who said he has no power. “I think Canelo wins,” Plant said when asked who won the Sept. 17 fight between Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin.
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