Caleb Plant pretended to dig his opponent Anthony Dirrell's grave during the celebration of his sensational ninth round stoppage on Saturday night.
The American star had not competed in the ring since being stopped by Canelo Alvarez last year in his undisputed title challenge, which left him requiring a rebuild to return to the 168lb title picture. And the first step of his journey back to the top was to face Dirrell in a WBC title eliminator, which he was looking to win in style to put him in pole position for a rematch with Alvarez.
The fight unfolded over nine rounds in a chess match, before Plant made a sensational breakthrough in the ninth telegraphing a booming left hook with a shot to the body which sent his opponent crumbling to the canvas and closed the show. Just seconds after the devastating blow left his opponent motionless, 'Sweet Hands' stood over his opponent while pretending to dig a grave with a shovel as Dirrell received medical treatment.
The referee quickly flew in to end the rather unsavoury celebration with Dirrell left on the ground following the devastating finish. However Plant continued to do the gesture behind the cover of the official, with the camera quickly panning to his rival who had medical staff attending to his needs on the floor.
During the celebration the commentary team were quick to interject with their views, with the commentator suggesting: “Oh no, don’t do that. Don’t do that." Another commentator quickly added: “Caleb frustrated from the histrionics throughout but you don’t want that.”
Plant appeared to explain the motivation for the celebration during the post-fight interview, where he said: “I’m sure all of you heard how he (Dirrell) hates me and how he said he will never let a white boy beat him,” Plant said. "Let me tell you something – skin doesn’t win fights, skills win fights.
Who would you like to see Caleb Plant fight next? Let us know in the comments section below
"And what I've got in here is more than he had. I was in full control the whole time, my coach kept telling me to stay patient, don't listen to the crowd, stick to the gameplan and that's what we did and then, boom baby!" There had been huge tension between the pair during the build-up to the fight, with Dirrell adamant that "white boy" Plant would not be able to beat him.
And it appeared it would indeed unfold as a tight contest with neither fighter able to get the upper hand in the early stages. During the middle rounds between five and eight, a chess match continued to take place with fans becoming frustrated with both fighters and voicing their frustration by booing.
However Plant was the one with his hand raised after a superb performance, and he called for bigger and better fights up next. He concluded following his latest success: "I’m here to stay, and I think I proved that tonight. We’re looking to make more big fights going forward."
