After his TKO loss to Canelo Alvarez, Caleb Plant comes back with an emphatic knockout over Anthony Dirrell. The two faced off in the co-main slot on the Wilder vs. Helenius card in the super middleweight division.
Former 2x WBC champion Dirrell, and former IBF champion Plant, jawed off at eachother from the press conference, all the way to the 9th round before Plant left him out cold from a left hook square on his jaw.
Ahead of the fight there was a lot to be said from Anthony Dirrell about his opponent. He posted a clip from Bernard Hopkins and Joe Calzaghe where Hopkins stated, “I will never let a white boy beat me“. and going on to say that his opponent was a “p***y” and “nobody in his division liked him“.
Plant feeling he was referring to him, bringing it up at the press conference saying, “boxing nor life has ever been about race” and “when I beat him it won’t be cause I’m white, it will be cause I’m better than him“.
From round 1 the two were jawing back-and-forth in the ring. There was also many illegal blows such as elbows, shots to the back of the head from Dirrell, and both having moments of slamming eachother on the canvas.
This animosity was surely due to the pent up disdain that they both had for eachother.
The fight was meticulous with each picking their shots with not many significant shots thats that made the other stumble to the canvas, other than when it was Dirrell who tossed him their, or vice-versa.
The 9th round was the round where Plant put Dirrell out cold with a left hook to the body then a quick left right on the jaw knocking Dirrell out.
Dirrell was out sometime before he came to and was put on the stool. He has never been stopped like that, he has only suffered a TKO loss to David Benavidez back in 2019.
Many fighters and commentators in attendance and who watched claimed this is the best Caleb Plant they have ever seen step inside the ring yet.
After when Dirrell was lyin on the canvas you can see Plant walking around him symbolizing throwing dirt on him.
Coming into the ring Caleb Plant wore a shirt with the writing “You Don’t Have a Reason To Hate Me” and after the knockout, post-fight in the ring wore another shirt saying “But Now You Do“.
He claimed he wore this because of the uneccessary hate he was getting from his opponent regarding race. He said, again post fight, “skin colour doesn’t win fights, it’s these“. Meaning his fists.
All this clearly doesn’t sit well with Plant too because his wife since 2019, Jordan, is bi-racial.
Plant’s record is now 22-1-0 with 13 of them coming by knockout.
images accredited to the beloved: boxingscene.com
MMA Loki news room staff
