Caleb Plant believes he is a far better boxer than David Benavidez and Jermall Charlo.
Plant last fought in November 2021 when he lost to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez to give up his WBO super middleweight championship.
In the past Plant and his fellow American fighters have been linked with a bout, and with the middleweight and super middleweight division still shaking out, there is a chance something could be made in 2022.
“My goal is to put myself down as a great, clear out the division, and be remembered as a great. I can’t just do that by beating one of them. I need to beat both of them, and that’s what I’ll do,” Plant told The Good Fight with Kate Abdo.
“I don’t think either one of them can f— with me, so it doesn’t matter to me. As far as skills, I don’t think either one of them can f— with me. They can’t outbox me, they’re not smarter than me, and they’re not more diligent than me with their training. They’re obviously not more disciplined than me.
“I don’t show up on TV drunk, I don’t miss weight, I don’t test positive for cocaine, I don’t miss fights, I don’t lose belts on a scale. If I’m going to lose a belt, it’s going to be me.
“As far as what I want to accomplish in the sport, I’m trying to get both of those names out of there. Whoever is first doesn’t matter and whoever is last doesn’t matter.”
Plant accepted that he lost his fight to Canelo, saying: “That’s part of the sport. When you go in there with somebody, most of the time somebody has got to come out with the short end of the stick. I just use it for motivation to get back in the ring again.
“I’ve been letting something heal up, and that’s why I haven’t been back yet.
“I want to get back to my winning ways, and then let the world know why I’ve had to take a little more time off. Until then, I want to keep it under wraps.
“I see myself being [at 168 pounds] for a long time. It’s not as if it’s difficult for me to make weight. I’m going to be here long enough to clear out a division. For any top middleweights that move up, I’m going to be right here.”