Comments Thread For: Caleb Plant: ?If I ask someone to leave me alone, it?s not a request, it?s a demand?

[NihonJim]

Very embarrassing that he got stopped by light punching canelo at 168. I think even he bought into yhe canelo hype and thst made canelos punches seem harder than they actually were

That's all I'll ever remember "the American billy Joe" for

[Smash]

i wonder how many times hes used that sweet hands joke as hes mauling his hoe

[Joseph]

What's your definition of a contender - someone who is unbeaten? If you get beaten twice by elite fighters are you automatically a gatekeeper? That's like saying Dubois was a gatekeeper after he lost twice to Joyce and Usyk (and Joyce never was elite) but now he's a belt holder again and fighting to be undisputed. For me, gatekeepers are fighters who have 4/5/6 losses, it's clear they are unlikely to be champions again or even fight for a belt and when they are matched with up and coming prospects they win some and they lose some.

It's a varied field. Plant lost both to the current king and to the former boogeyman of the division. He does not have a belt/title (a meaningful one, but he does have a Hail Mary title), he's going on 33 years old, and right now he's choosing to fight career middleweights and guys with fractured psyches rather than go for the gusto himself. Anyone else trying to take the road to the championship should (ideally, I'm trying to take boxing politics into account) have to go through him first as their final litmus test unless he himself tries again. That's at least one definition of a gatekeeper. And Plant fits that description. Doesn't take away from his skills, just where he is right now.

[lilacp]

Some folks here are really stretching the meaning of what is a gatekeeper. There are gatekeepers and there are serious contenders to the belts (please forget the meaning given to contender by the silly TV show of the same name). As an example, his most recent loss along with the other losses he has had makes Josh Taylor a gatekeeper. The moment Plant begins to lose to B level fighters then we can start saying he is a gatekeeper, and we aren't there yet. It may happen soon, who knows, he may even be tested by Sarmendiz. But it hasn't.

Full disclosure: I was rooting for both Canelo and Benavidez when they fought Plant. I do find Plant refreshing in comparison to all the trash talkers out there.

[SteveM]

It's a varied field. Plant lost both to the current king and to the former boogeyman of the division. He does not have a belt/title (a meaningful one, but he does have a Hail Mary title), he's going on 33 years old, and right now he's choosing to fight career middleweights and guys with fractured psyches rather than go for the gusto himself. Anyone else trying to take the road to the championship should (ideally, I'm trying to take boxing politics into account) have to go through him first as their final litmus test unless he himself tries again. That's at least one definition of a gatekeeper. And Plant fits that description. Doesn't take away from his skills, just where he is right now.

Understand what you're saying but as there's a log jam at 168 with Canelo refusing to defend against the best and not being mandated to do so, then Plant is a contender along with the others - Ring magazine has him a no.4. It's not like Mbilli, Pacheco or Iglesias would be guaranteed a crack at Canelo if they beat Plant and I've not heard them calling Plant out either. Plant needs to be paid also, as they all do, and fighting Charlo, if it happens, will pay him more than a fight against those other contenders.

[Joseph]

Understand what you're saying but as there's a log jam at 168 with Canelo refusing to defend against the best and not being mandated to do so, then Plant is a contender along with the others - Ring magazine has him a no.4. It's not like Mbilli, Pacheco or Iglesias would be guaranteed a crack at Canelo if they beat Plant and I've not heard them calling Plant out either. Plant needs to be paid also, as they all do, and fighting Charlo, if it happens, will pay him more than a fight against those other contenders.

Agree with you. Using the term "gatekeeper" without at least providing context is just sloppy language on my part.

How about "contending gatekeeper?" Haha. I will be so glad when Canelo goes away.

[Oregonian]

I like Plant as a fighter; very good gatekeeper.

However, as someone who was born in Tennessee and grew up there, I know his type through and through. Trouble often finds them, but don't let him fool you, he's probably looking for it.

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How exactly is Plant a gatekeeper in Division held hostage by one single man?