Caleb Plant is shaping up to be Saúl Álvarez's next rival for the month of November 2021 , in a contest that promises to be historic for the world of boxing, because the unification of the super middleweight titles would be at stake.
Who is Caleb Plant?
To talk about the boxer born in Tennessee , United States , is to go beyond the world of boxing, because his life has been marked by adverse moments, but that he has managed to reverse thanks to sport, where today he is undefeated (20-0) and where he is close to rendezvousing with history against Canelo. But even so, there is a pain that accompanies him every day: the death of his daughter at 19 months old .
This was his childhood: shortcomings and boxing since he was a child
Caleb Plant was born in a small town called Ashland City , where he had a hard childhood, because the deficiencies were part of his life , coupled with the fact that his mother was struggling with strong addictions ; however, his father chose to bring him closer to the world of sports, building him an austere gym so that he could practice boxing , a sport that he embraced since he was nine years old.
The beginnings of Caleb Plant
The now 28-year-old boxer was making his way in amateur boxing, but just when he was about to get the opportunity to become a professional , he became a father in 2012 . The inexperience was obvious, at that time he was 20 years old and his then partner (Carman Jean Briscoe-Lee) 19.
This did not matter, they both decided to go ahead and a little girl was born whom they called: Alia . However, with her arrival came news that shook her life, because the newborn suffered from an unknown illness that forced her to fight for her life from the very beginning.
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This is how Plant's life changed
Once little Alia was born, the life of the Caleb Plant changed completely, her routine was destined to train and spend it in the hospital looking for her daughter to recover.
“ He had eight medical appointments a week at the hospital . There were months that I lived and stayed in the hospital, even in my training camps. I would wake up, go to the gym and work out, come back and spend time with her, get my strength and conditioning back, come back and rest with her.
“ I would go home every other day to get more clothes and then come back . I'd go running downtown for Vanderbilt, I'd take ice baths at Vanderbilt in the bathroom," he recounted.
Time flew by, his little daughter turned her first year of life and just at that moment Caleb Plant was given the opportunity in professional boxing , a career that started on the right foot by beating Travis Davidson and from there he took his course upward.
The death of his daughter
However, months later she received strong news, her little daughter couldn't take it anymore and passed away, not before Caleb Plant had a "talk" with her that broke her heart.
“ I had a fight in Philly and she was at risk again . She was getting very scary, she could barely breathe. When I woke up (the next day) things were getting worse, so they said, ' Mr Plant, we know we've told you this several times, but this time his daughter is going to die . They told me that, so I called off the fight.
“She was slowly going down and down and down and down and down (his breathing of hers). I went to see her and I said, 'It's been a very long 19 months and I know you must be tired. If you're tired of this and you're done, and you don't want to do this anymore, then your dad supports you and I'll be here . Before her it was, 'No, this isn't going to happen,' but I had that conversation with her and she just started to wind down. I sat there with her and she took her last breath from her on January 29 at 10:55 ,” he explained.
She kept her promise to her daughter
To the surprise of many, Caleb Plnat fought again five months after the death of his daughter, with the aim of fulfilling the promise he made to his little girl before leaving: she wins the world title . He did it in 2019, when he beat Venezuelan José Uzcategui . After the victory he gave one of the most emotional moments in the ring.
"I've worked my whole life for this, 17 years straight. I buried my daughter in the process of trying to get this belt . I promised her that I would become a world champion and bring her this title, and that's exactly what I'm going to do." back to Tennessee," said the boxer, who days later posted a photo of his world title belt on Alia's grave on his social media .
Her mother's death
Caleb Plant was recovering from the death of his daughter, when in March 2015 a new tragedy came into his life: his mother lost her life . Everything happened unexpectedly, because she started with a mental health crisis , so she was going to be transported by the Emergency Medical Services .
However, she resisted being moved and various reports indicate that she pulled a knife from her backpack , forcing paramedics to call the police. According to the police report: "The officer yelled at her many times for her to stop and drop him, but she did not stop."
The officer fired his gun at Beth Plant , who died at a Nashville hospital at age 51. Caleb took refuge in boxing again and continued to reap success.
Today, all the adversities have made Plant stronger and he is ready to get in the ring against Canelo Álvarez in November 2021, in case the fight closes. The American is clear: he does not fight for money but for a legacy .
