Daniel Jacobs doesn't think too highly of IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Plant, and the feeling is mutual.
During a recent interview with FightHype.com, Plant referred to Jacobs as everything from "old" to "on his way out" and someone whom he'd love to "put a boxing lesson on."
“He’s been in some tough fights,” Plant said. "But as (boxers) go through their career, they continue to get better and better, and they turn into an A-class fighter. He’s (Jacobs) not going to do that, and he’s not on the way up. He’s not 25, he’s not 27, and he doesn’t have 20 fights, 22 fights or 25 fights. He’s out, man. He had his chance."
He added moments later: "By the time that I do become a mega star because I will, he’s already messed it up. He’s not a mega fighter, and we can’t have a mega fight. You’re old, and you’re on your way out. They’re not going to let that happen."
All that being said, Plant (20-0, 12 KOs) said that he'd love to use Jacobs as a proving point and stepping stone on his way to that superstardom that he's promising.
“He can have this fight because I would love to fight him," Plant said. "I’ll put a boxing lesson on him. I would love to fight him. I would fight him in a heartbeat."
Plant's pointed shots toward Jacobs come after the former middleweight champion rebounded from his loss to Canelo Alvarez in May and moved up to the 168-pound division in December to make Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. quit after the fifth round.
Jacobs (36-3, 30 KOs) recently assessed all the super middleweight champions and rated Plant last — a classification that probably triggered the return fire from Plant.
"I would probably put Plant at the bottom of those names you just named," Jacobs told Matchroom Boxing USA president Eddie Hearn during an Instagram Live chat late last month.
"I think Plant is good, but I think he could be beat," Jacobs tacked on. "He's beatable. I see a lot of flaws in his game."
At 33, Jacobs has registered nearly double the amount of pro fights than the 27-year-old Plant.