Former super middleweight titleholder Caleb Plant joins Brian Custer on The Last Stand Podcast to field questions and share his perspective on a number of topics. It starts off with Plant reflecting on his thoughts following his knockout loss to Canelo Alvarez before looking forward to this fight with Anthony Dirrell and beyond. Check out some excerpts of what Plant had to say with the full video interview in the link above.
Plant on the biggest lesson he learned in his loss to Canelo
“I don’t really feel I learned too much about myself that I didn’t already know, but just gaining that experience. That’s something that you can’t buy. And just being at that level and everything that came with it, I feel like I was well prepared for it but now that I’ve gone through it I’ll be able to carry that experience with me into bigger fights moving forward.”
On what he would’ve done differently in that fight with the benefit of hindsight
“There’s a few things that I would’ve done differently, but I’m gonna keep those to myself because my plan, I’m gonna clear out the rest of the division, I’m gonna get a rematch. So in the rematch you guys will be able to figure out and see what’s going on.”
On those who question whether his lack of power will always be problematic for him at the elite end of the division
“I mean, people can say what they want but in all my fights and in most of the rounds in the Canelo fight I’ve thrown more punches and landed more punches than all of my opponents. So if they’re supposed to be throwing more punches than me then why are they standing around looking at me? If I don’t hit hard, or I don’t hit hard enough, why aren’t they just walking through it and getting the job done, doing what they gotta do.
“Against the Canelo fight, I was doing great. I was doing good, I got caught with a shot, you know, that happens in big time boxing. Two great fighters go up against each other, one will probably have to come up short, and that was me this time. Like I said, I’ve gained that experience and get to take it with me moving forward in to other big fights and I’m just that much more seasoned.”
On why he’s fighting Anthony Dirrell
“After that type of fight with Canelo and doing as well as I did, I wanted a big fight coming right back. I could’ve took a no-name or just got my feet wet, but I want to carry this momentum and I want to get the biggest name that I could and the biggest fight that I could. And this is what we were able to get, and so here we are.”
On making a change and bringing in a new lead trainer in Stephen ‘Breadman’ Edwards
“Just after the fight, some relationships run their course and that’s what happened after the last fight. I still have my father with me, I still have Coach Ray with me, and now Breadman’s on the team working with us and we got great chemistry. We’ve known each other for a long time, he’s a great coach, he knows a lot of things. Him and my dad get along really well.
“Camp is going great, this is the best camp that I’ve had. We’re really only a week in as far as official camp, as far 8 weeks goes, but me, Breadman, my dad, we’ve been training hard and working for weeks now and you gonna see the best Caleb Plant you’ve seen yet.”
On what Breadman has added to his fight game
“I’m not gonna get too specific but he’s got great energy in the gym and he’s from Philly — one of, if not the fight capital of the world. So he know a lot of tricks, a lot of tips, and a lot of the same things my dad has been calling for and asking for and we just haven’t had the chance to work on yet. And now with Breadman we’re doing that so Oct. 15 tune in.”
On if he intends to fight David Benavidez should he beat Dirrell
“Right after Dirrell my plan is to step to make the biggest fight that I can possibly make in the super middleweight division, and if that’s with David Benavidez then that’s the fight I want to make.”