Caleb Plant has claimed he was "burying the beef" with opponent Anthony Dirrell after adopting a 'grave digging' celebration following his KO win.
Plant was making his return at 168lb for the first time since coming up short in his undisputed title challenge when he fell to a stoppage defeat against Canelo Alvarez. 'Sweet Hands' took on experienced star Dirrell in a WBC title eliminator at the weekend, and after several rounds of chess-like action Plant detonated a huge left hand to close the show in the ninth.
Just seconds after landing the devastating blow, Plant began celebrating by sarcastically using a pretend shovel to dig his opponent's grave while stood over his opponent who was receiving medical treatment on the canvas. The referee quickly came in to move the American away from his rival, while the commentator appeared to criticise his antics.
The 30-year-old has since downplayed any suggestions that his controversial celebration was badly timed, and believes it was symbolic of the ending of their rivalry following the exchange of lengthy verbal barbs. “I was just burying the beef between us,” Plant said at his post-fight press conference following the KO and celebration. “That’s all.
“He had a lot to say about me, you know, calling me a lot of names, talking about my race, what I’m able to do. You know, I ain’t never fought nobody, I ain’t never, you know, hurt nobody. Well, I fought him and I hurt him, so you know, like I said in the ring, skin colour doesn’t win fights. You know, what’s in here [pointed to his head] wins fights and what’s in here [pointed to his heart] wins fights. And that’s what we did.”
The pair had exchanged harsh words in the build-up to the contest with Dirrell adamant that he would deliver a spectacular win to put himself in pole position for a title shot. However, Plant delivered despite the lacklustre start to affairs in New York, and silenced fans' boos with a booming left hand which has seen many label it 'KO of the year'.
What did you make of Caleb Plant's 'grave digging' celebration? Let us know in the comments section below
He will now be eyeing a high-profile rematch with Alvarez who successfully defended his undisputed titles against Gennady Golovkin last time out. And Plant has insisted that big fights will continue to come after hailing his own display at the Barclays Center.
“I’d say it’d be the best knockout of my career,” he continued. "I was just letting him know it was easy – that’s all. He couldn’t do nothing wit’ me. From round one, I mean, it was a complete shutout. He couldn’t hardly touch me and I was doing what I wanted at will, until he went to sleep. I’m here to stay, and I think I proved that tonight. We’re looking to make more big fights going forward."
