On the eve of the highly-anticipated Errol Spence-Terence Crawford fight, the drama is getting off to an early start.
Video went viral on Friday of former IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Plant smacking rival boxer Jermall Charlo, a former two-division world champion himself, backstage at the Spence-Crawford weigh-in.
Plant was seen striking Charlo in the face with a sharp left hand before the two were separated by bystanders. Both fighters were in street clothes at the time. Video of the scene was posted by Michael Benson of talkSPORT.com. You can watch it here (but beware of the bad language).
It is unclear what may have triggered the incident between the two fighters, as neither Plant nor Charlo is fighting on the Spence-Crawford undercard. But the two have been going back and forth in the media for at least a year now with Charlo once referring to Plant as a mere “stepping stone” on the way to a bigger fight.
Charlo Wants Canelo Showdown, Views Benavidez, Plant as Stepping Stones https://t.co/8imHlMwLfj pic.twitter.com/HGd6BLurDc
— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) June 8, 2022
Plant (22-2, 13 KOs) is best known from his Nov. 2021 fight with Canelo Alvarez (with Alvarez scoring a thunderous TKO victory). He last fought David Benavidez in March and lost by unanimous decision (one bout after Plant’s very disrespectful knockout win over Anthony Dirrell).
Meanwhile, Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) hasn’t fought since stopping Juan Macias Montiel by unanimous decision over two years ago (in June 2021). He was supposed to come back to face Alvarez in a blockbuster fight in September but has since been replaced by his twin brother Jermell Charlo as Alvarez’s opponent.
