By Robert Segal: Anthony Dirrell and former IBF super middleweight champion Caleb ‘Sweethands’ Plant exchanged some harsh words during Thursday’s final press conference for Saturday’s chief support fight on the Deontay Wilder vs. Robert Helenius card on FOX Sports pay-per-view at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
(Photo credit: Stephanie Trapp/TGB Promotions)
‘Sweethands’ Plant (21-1, 12 KOs) drew first blood when he said, “He doesn’t like me.” That’s a remark that Plant has been recycling during the entire build-up to the fight, and Dirrell (34-2, 25 KOs) had finally heard enough of it, and he bit back by telling the recently beaten Plant, “I don’t have to like you.”
From there, Dirrell and Plant went back & forth, stealing the show from the main event fighters Deontay Wilder & Robert Helenius, who had very few interesting things to say during the press conference today. Dirrell basically saved the press conference with him trashing Plant.
It’s pathetic that Plant says the same things basically from one interview to the other without coming up with different viewpoints on his fight with Dirrell. After weeks of Plant repeating himself, Dirrell was fed up with him, and he blasted the Tennessee native.
“You keep bringing up the same s***. That I don’t like you. I don’t have to like you,” said Anthony Dirrell to Caleb Plant during Thursday’s final press conference.
“Motherf***, ain’t nothing in the rule book that says I’ve got to like your a**. Where’s that s*** at? Show me.
“Just don’t run. Don’t get on your bike, b**ch. Who have you fought? Tell me. Tell me who you’ve fought. Shut up. Stop talking.”
“The only way you could retire me is running around the f**** ring until I get old. That’s the only way you can retire me; you can’t do nothing, man. F*** you can do? You can’t hit,” said Dirrell.
If Plant loses this fight, he will never hear the end of it because he’s the favorite and the younger fighter of the two. However, Plant is coming off an eleventh round knockout loss to Canelo Alvarez, and he showed the same stamina issues as he did in his fight with Jose Uzcategui.
Plant will be on his bike on Saturday night because he lacks the power in his punches to stand and have a real fight with the heavy-handed Dirrell. Also, Plant’s gas tank is too limited for him to go to war with Dirrell because he’ll fade quickly as he did against Canelo and Uzcategui.
Dirrell feels he’s being written off
“Probably age. That’s all I can think of,” said Dirrell to Fight Hub TV when asked why he thinks boxing fans are writing him off. “I’ve proved myself many times. I don’t need to prove myself to nobody.
“Caleb has fought two people, and everybody knows that. Everybody knows those two people [Canelo Alvarez & Jose Uzcategui]. Just know I’m going to beat his a** on Saturday. No,” said Dirrell when asked if he respects Plant.
“Outside of the ring, be cordial, be respectful, and he’s not at all. I’m not going to say it rubs me some kind of way, but it kind of gets me. No,” Dirrell said when asked if he was going to shake Plant’s hand after the fight. “It has nothing to do with a handshake. I still don’t like the mother f****.
“Everybody has their pros and cons. I’ll have to see when I get in there,” continued Dirrell. “David Benavidez was tall; he came forward a lot. I think I did what I needed to do in that fight until I got cut.
“You got to approach every fight differently than you did the last fight,” said Dirrell.
