Caleb Plant brings back iconic gravedigger celebration after taunting opponent throughout fight and then knocking him out

15/09/2024 03:03

Caleb Plant survived an early scare to stop Trevor McCumby in the ninth round before bringing back his famous celebration.

McCumby came into the fight as a relative unknown.

The 31-year-old hadn't fought anyone close to the level of Plant in the pros and despite boasting an impressive amateur career, which saw him scoop seven national titles, few felt he had much of a chance against the former IBF super-middleweight champion.

A cagey opener ensued from the off but in the second McCumby got right to work and proved he was worthy of his shot at the divisional elite.

McCumby landed multiple flush left hooks in the second stanza including one at the end of the round that appeared to really shake up Plant.

'Sweethands' touched down near the ropes and the referee ruled it a slip but when Plant made his way back to his feet he appeared to be on unsteady legs.

Plant started to get into his groove in the third round as he began to time a nice counter right hand but a sweeping left hook to the body in the fourth frame sent the Tennessee technician to the canvas.

This time it was ruled a knockdown.

After eating another stiff shot early in the fifth, Plant looked to smother McCumby up close.

It proved to be the right adjustment, with McCumby looking very uncomfortable with his back against the ropes.

At the mid-way point, Plant's confidence was on a high as he taunted and landed at will.

By the ninth, McCumby's body language had changed considerably and Plant swarmed his adversary and slumped him up against the ropes as the referee stepped in and waved off the fight.

As he closed the show, Plant brought out his gravedigger celebration, which became famous after his vicious KO win over Anthony Dirrell in 2022.

With that victory, Plant becomes WBA ‘interim’ champion and is now the major sanctioning body’s No.1 contender to take on the winner of Canelo Alvarez vs Edgar Berlanga in the main event of the evening.

Canelo stopped Plant in the eleventh round back in November 2021 to become the first undisputed super middleweight champion of the four-belt era.

However, he was stripped of his IBF title after choosing to face Berlanga rather than mandatory challenger William Scull.

As a result, the IBF has ordered a vacant world title fight between Scull and Vladimir Shishkin while Canelo and Berlanga duke it out for three of the four main world titles.