Caleb Plant is ready to tell the whole story about why he had to chin-check Jermall Charlo, the twin brother of Jermell Charlo, who is fighting Canelo Alvarez this weekend. The altercation happened backstage at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas after the Errol Spence Jr. vs. Terence Crawford weigh-in.
A viral video showed Plant slapping Charlo with a left hook before being separated, and people wanted to know what transpired to cause such a visceral reaction.
The Smack Heard ‘Round The Boxing World
“I see Jermall [Charlo], and he’s just standing off to the side, and he’s staring at me, but it’s like a blank stare,” Plant said on the “Million Dollaz Worth of Game” podcast. “I’m like, ‘What does this dude want?’ He walks up, and he’s like, ‘Why don’t you f**k with me? I f**k with you, I look up to you.’ I just felt like it was weird to say. I didn’t feel like Jermall would say something like that.
“I’m like, ‘We’re cool; it’s just sometimes you’re hot, sometimes you’re cold, like you’ll literally come up to me one time and say you love me, and then another time I see you on the interview, you’ll be saying, I’ll beat up Caleb and send his a** back to Tennessee so I really don’t know how to take you so I keep my distance.’ He’s like ‘No man, I f**ks with you and Jordy.’ I’m like, ‘Jordy, her name is Jordan; don’t call my wife a pet name. “
Jordan Plant is Caleb’s wife and a FOX Sports broadcaster who does in-the-ring interviews for the network. Charlo’s too-familiar stance when discussing his wife was a point of contention because the twin is an awkward study for Caleb.
“He’s giving me a hot sentence, then a cold sentence; its kind of hard to follow him,” Caleb
continued. “Then he’s like, ‘You want to fight because I’ll beat the s**t out of you.’ Then he pulled the hair on my chin, kind of hard too.
“I got my wife standing next to me in a room full of all of my boxing peers. I had to handle my business and do what I did, but honestly, that was the second time I smacked him. The first time I smacked him was right before the person started recording.”
Grudge Match
Since then, fans have been clamoring for a fight between Plant and Jermall, but he has not fought since 2021, when he took a unanimous decision over Juan Macias Montiel. Jermall is the WBC champion at 160 pounds, due to a combination of injuries and issues from his personal life.
Charlo has been battling mental health issues but recently told reporters that he anticipates returning to action soon.
“I can’t wait to get back in the ring,” Charlo said, per Boxing Scene. “I’ll be back before the end of the year, though. I promise you that. I’m getting back. I’m better now. Know what I’m sayin’? Everybody goes through things, you know. I faced my little adversity and the best thing about it is that I get to beat that adversity, and y’all get to see the adversity.
“Sometimes it took me to get away from boxing at the time. I’ve been doing it for 20, 30 years. I had to get away from it a little bit. It is what it is. You can fault me for not fighting, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
Until Jermall plans his return, Plant would be the apparent option for a grudge match that has been brewing.
