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Anthony Dirrell doesn’t care what oddsmakers, reporters or fans think of his chances when he boxes Caleb Plant on October 15.
The former WBC super middleweight champion is completely confident that he has one more title run left in him during the twilight of his career. Plant, a younger former IBF champion who has lost only to Canelo Alvarez, is consistently listed as a 10-1 favorite to defeat Dirrell in their FOX Sports Pay-Per-View co-feature at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
“The Dog” doesn’t view himself as an underdog, though.
“I don’t care about Caleb Plant and I don’t care what he says,” Dirrell said. “If I go in there and fight up to my capabilities, I’ll come out victorious for sure. I’m doing this for myself. If you’re doing it for something other than yourself and your family, then you’re doing it wrong, I think. I’m here to prove to myself that I still have it. I don’t care what people think or say. As long as I keep positivity in my circle, then I’ll be fine.”
Dirrell (34-2-2, 25 KOs) will turn 38 the day before he opposes Plant on the Deontay Wilder-Robert Helenius undercard. The Flint, Michigan native is just 1-1-1 in his past three fights and he hasn’t fought a championship-caliber boxer since David Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs) knocked him out in the ninth round to regain the WBC 168-pound crown from Dirrell three years ago at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
He’ll end nearly a one-year layoff when he battles Plant. Dirrell drilled Marcos Hernandez (15-6-2, 3 KOs) with a right uppercut that emphatically ended their fight in the fourth round on the Alvarez-Plant undercard last November 6 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Plant (21-1, 12 KOs), of Ashland City, Tennessee, hasn’t fought since the night he lost Alvarez, either. The 30-year-old Plant was competitive at times with Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs), the Mexican superstar who eventually stopped Plant in the 11th round of their full title unification fight.
“I’m not even really thinking about Caleb and what he does, honestly,” Dirrell said. “I only saw Caleb’s fight against Canelo when I was at the arena, bits and pieces of it. We know what Caleb does and we know what he brings to the table. All I worry about is what I can do as a fighter.”
After the 12-round bout between Plant and Dirrell, Wilder (42-2-1, 41 KOs), of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Finland’s Helenius (31-3, 20 KOs) will square off in FOX Sports Pay-Per-View’s main event ($74.99). Wilder, who will end a one-year layoff, hasn’t boxed since British rival Tyson Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) viciously knocked him out in the 11th round of their third WBC heavyweight title fight last October 9 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.