Caleb Plant has fought through personal loss in pursuit of his greatest career win
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Mike CoppingerESPN
LAS VEGAS — Even during those hot summer days spent in a trailer park outside Nashville, Tennessee, Caleb Plant knew he was meant for so much more.
Personal tragedy served to strengthen that steely resolve.
His daughter, Alia, died three months shy of her second birthday. Just over four years later, his mother, Beth, was killed in a shooting involving a police officer.
Plant pushed forward the only way he knew how: with unflappable personal discipline and dedication to his craft. His way out from the trailer park, his therapy for all the hurt, was the boxing ring.
His unbreakable will served him well when, as a 5-1 underdog, he upended Jose Uzcategui in 2019 to win a super middleweight title. And Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) is certain that confidence will lift him to victory once more in his biggest fight yet: Saturday’s meeting with pound-for-pound king Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas for the undisputed super middleweight championship (9 p.m. ET, Showtime PPV).
“This didn’t happen by accident,” Plant, a 6-1 underdog, says moments before working out at City Boxing Club last month. “I planned this. I mapped this out, me and my dad when we first started.
“So I know how I got here: It was through my hard work and my dedication, through a lot of sacrifice and, most importantly, a lot of self-belief.”
PLANT GREW UP in Ashland City, a town 20 miles outside Nashville with a population of less than 5,000 and, according to the World Population Review, a poverty rate over 18%.
He was part of that 18%, a reality that was drilled into him when he would see celebrities on TV flaunting the latest clothes and cars. Plant dreamed of a better life, and boxing was his way there. He found the sport at age 9 and, along with his kickboxer father, Richie, mapped out a plan to escape not just poverty, but all the heartache.
“It made me really upset,” Plant, now 29, recalls. “Why do we have to be poor? Why can’t I have them clothes? Why can’t I have them shoes? Why can’t I live in that house? I would be in my room, sometimes emotionally upset, and thinking, ‘I’m not going to be like this forever.'”
He excelled in the amateurs, routinely participating in older age groups, and placed fourth at the 2010 USA Boxing National Championships. His success derived from quick combinations, a strong jab and fancy footwork. The other kids would see Plant go to work and say, “Man, you’ve got some sweet hands.” A boxing moniker was born.
“Not something I gave myself,” says “Sweethands” Plant.
On his way to earning a spot as an Olympic alternate for the 2012 Games in London, Plant won the National Golden Gloves at 178 pounds. The talent was apparent and the hard work was paying off. But he was still far away from realizing his dream.
“Teachers in school [were] telling me I need a Plan B: ‘What are the chances of you becoming a professional boxer?'” Plant said. “You have to stay committed. … This sport is a marathon, it’s not a sprint. You have to be patient.”
That patience has been tested in the pros. Plant turned professional in May 2014 with a first-round KO, but he wasn’t in a notable fight until January 2019. That was his first title bout, and he rose to the occasion with a decision victory over Uzcategui. Three routine title defenses followed against fighters with little hope of winning, and now Plant will be tasked with defeating not just the best fighter in the sport, but boxing’s biggest star.
The climb up the ranks to this weekend started when boxing manager Luis DeCubas Jr. discovered Plant in the lead-up to the Olympics at the box-offs in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and signed him shortly after. He’s been Plant’s manager ever since, with PBC founder Al Haymon the advisor.
“Him and Gervonta Davis were the two best fighters that I recall from that trip in Colorado,” DeCubas recalls. “I left there saying, ‘Wow, Caleb Plant and Gervonta Davis are going to be world champions and they’re going to be stars.’
“Caleb was just a sensational boxer. He had great legs, he had a very, very educated jab. I just knew he was a guy who would go far in the pro game.”
PLANT BECAME A father to a baby girl on May 7, 2013. Alia was born with a brain abnormality and suffered from seizures on a daily basis. On some days, Plant said, there would be as many as 150. They were living in Tennessee at the time and Alia had hundreds of blood tests conducted at Vanderbilt Hospital. There was no remedy found.
Alia’s life was spent in and out of the hospital, and Plant attempted to balance a blossoming boxing career with the pain and anguish of trying to keep his daughter alive.
He slept on hospital room floors after road work. He cancelled fights to be with his daughter. Tragically, she died on Jan. 29, 2015, but not before Plant made her a promise: He would become a world champion.
Plant later would deliver that red IBF 168-pound title belt to her gravesite, a vow fulfilled. But the pain and suffering persisted.
“Going through what he went through definitely makes a harder man or woman,” DeCubas said. “Any parent who loses a child, any [person] who loses a parent in tragic circumstances, it’s going to make you a harder person.”
Plant had learned how to be a man under the guidance of his father, who was for the most part solely responsible for raising Caleb and his younger sister, Madeline. Caleb’s mother, Beth, was in and out of the picture while dealing with what Caleb called her “demons.”
Many days, it was just the three of them — two kids and their dad — in a one-bedroom mobile home. Those were the days when Plant hoped and prayed for a better future.
With his boxing career lifting off, Plant relocated to Las Vegas in search of top-notch sparring as he moved up the ranks on Premier Boxing Champions cards.
His mother still lived in Tennessee and she was struggling. She was staying with a friend, who made a 911 call one Saturday morning for an ambulance, reportedly saying Beth Plant wasn’t making sense. According to the Cheatham County Sheriff’s Office, she pulled a knife from a backpack during the ride to the hospital and started stabbing at the windows.
Police bodycam footage shows a standoff with police afterward. Plant is holding a knife and, after she’s repeatedly told to drop the weapon, is shot by the deputy. She died on March 9, 2019, two months after Plant finally became world champion.
“I feel like I’m able to express myself through my [boxing],” Plant says. “I’m able to express my pain. … I can show [opponents] just a tiny glimpse — for a split second — of what it feels like to have the embarrassments of not having this or not having that.
“When I get to go to the gym or go to the fight or sparring or training, it’s like a sanctuary. If you look back over my life, there’s been a lot of things that have happened that I really haven’t had any control over, from my childhood to where I grew up to what went on in the household to stuff with my mother, to my daughter. The list goes on and on.
“I was someone who no one would want to be. But when I got to go to the boxing gym, even at a young age, I was somebody who everybody wanted to be. It was almost like a drug that I became addicted to.”
THEY STOOD NOSE to nose at the Beverly Hilton in September, Plant finally facing the kind of opportunity he always envisioned. He wasn’t backing down. He’d come too far.
Behind sunglasses, Plant shouted at Canelo Alvarez. Surprisingly, the Mexican star attacked with an open-handed strike. Plant connected, too, but he was the one who emerged with a cut under his right eye, the result of his shades pushing against his cheek.
The exchange went viral. This lifted Plant, who despite his status as champion was relatively obscure, to a national headline. Alvarez is usually reserved, but Plant got under his skin.
He called Alvarez a cheater, a nod to Canelo’s positive test for the banned substance clenbuterol ahead of his 2018 rematch with Gennadiy Golovkin. (Alvarez blamed tainted meat consumed in Mexico.) Plant was vocal with doping accusations on Twitter after the fight was signed, ending months of contentious negotiations and dragged out discussions that pushed the bout from Sept. 18 to Nov. 6.
Perhaps most irritatingly of all for Canelo, Plant hurled insults at his beloved longtime trainer, Eddy Reynoso. This was personal for Alvarez, even if it wasn’t necessarily for Plant.
“It has nothing to do with him; he’s in the way of what I want to accomplish,” says Plant, who is guaranteed a career-high purse of $10 million. “He’s in the way of everything I’ve worked for and dreamed of.
“This isn’t like a show; I don’t do things for promotion. I don’t have a persona or anything like that that I’m trying to live up to. Clearly something about me bothers him. I’m not sure what it is.”
Plant, ESPN’s No. 3 super middleweight, is undoubtedly talented yet unproven, at least in comparison to Alvarez. His trainer, Justin Gamber, acknowledges, “We have about as many pro bouts as he does championship fights, bottom line.”
The talent shines through in Plant’s world-class jab that dictates the pace of fights and his brilliant footwork that allows him to escape trouble. But his best opponent thus far has been Uzcategui, levels below Alvarez. In fact, there’s no boxer on the planet who comes close to Canelo at the moment. He’s the unquestioned pound-for-pound No. 1 boxer by a mile, and his popularity equals the skill.
When Plant steps in the ring, he’ll do so in hostile territory before Alvarez’s legion of Mexican fans. But the adversity Plant will face inside the ring Saturday will surely pale in comparison to what he’s already endured outside those ropes.
“I’ve always been a fighter who can step up to the occasion; I do best when there’s a lot of pressure on the line,” he says. “When the lights are on and it’s time to put my best foot forward, I always do that, in or out of the ring.
“I’m not just here to hand my belt over. I’m not just here to pick up a check and be quiet and let him ride off into the sunset. I’m here to win this fight and I’m going to win this fight.”
The 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby is fast approaching — and the field is set.
Braves hometown hero Ronald Acuna Jr. became the first player to commit to the event, which will be held at Truist Park in Atlanta on July 14 (8 p.m. ET on ESPN). He was followed by MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals, Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins, Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays, Brent Rooker of the Athletics and Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the New York Yankees.
On Friday, however, Acuna was replaced by teammate Matt Olson.
With all the entrants announced, let’s break down their chances at taking home this year’s Derby prize.
Full All-Star Game coverage: How to watch, schedule, rosters, more
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 434 feet
Why he could win: Olson is a late replacement for Acuna as the home team’s representative at this year’s Derby. Apart from being the Braves’ first baseman, however, Olson also was born in Atlanta and grew up a Braves fan, giving him some extra motivation. The left-handed slugger led the majors in home runs in 2023 — his 54 round-trippers that season also set a franchise record — and he remains among the best in the game when it comes to exit velo and hard-hit rate.
Why he might not: The home-field advantage can also be a detriment if a player gets too hyped up in the first round. See Julio Rodriguez in Seattle in 2023, when he had a monster first round, with 41 home runs, but then tired out in the second round.
2025 home runs: 36 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: It’s the season of Cal! The Mariners’ catcher is having one of the greatest slugging first halves in MLB history, as he’s been crushing mistakes all season . His easy raw power might be tailor-made for the Derby — he ranks in the 87th percentile in average exit velocity and delivers the ball, on average, at the optimal home run launch angle of 23 degrees. His calm demeanor might also be perfect for the contest as he won’t get too amped up.
Why he might not: He’s a catcher — and one who has carried a heavy workload, playing in all but one game this season. This contest is as much about stamina as anything, and whether Raleigh can carry his power through three rounds would be a concern. No catcher has ever won the Derby, with only Ivan Rodriguez back in 2005 even reaching the finals.
2025 home runs: 24 | Longest: 451 feet
Why he could win: He’s big, he’s strong, he’s young, he’s awesome, he might or might not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. This is the perfect opportunity for Wood to show his talent on the national stage, and he wouldn’t be the first young player to star in the Derby. He ranks in the 97th percentile in average exit velocity and 99th percentile in hard-hit rate, so he can still muscle the ball out in BP even if he slightly mishits it. His long arms might be viewed as a detriment, but remember the similarly tall Aaron Judge won in 2017.
Why he might not: His natural swing isn’t a pure uppercut — he has a pretty low average launch angle of just 6.2 degrees — so we’ll see how that plays in a rapid-fire session. In real games, his power is primarily to the opposite field, but in a Home Run Derby you can get more cheapies pulling the ball down the line.
2025 home runs: 20 | Longest: 479 feet
Why he could win: Buxton’s raw power remains as impressive as nearly any hitter in the game. He crushed a 479-foot home run earlier this season and has four others of at least 425 feet. Indeed, his “no doubter” percentage — home runs that would be out of all 30 parks based on distance — is 75%, the highest in the majors among players with more than a dozen home runs. His bat speed ranks in the 89th percentile. In other words, two tools that could translate to a BP lightning show.
Why he might not: Buxton is 31 and the Home Run Derby feels a little more like a younger man’s competition. Teoscar Hernandez did win last year at age 31, but before that, the last winner older than 29 was David Ortiz in 2010, and that was under much different rules than are used now.
2025 home runs: 16 | Longest: 463 feet
Why he could win: If you drew up a short list of players everyone wants to see in the Home Run Derby, Cruz would be near the top. He has the hardest-hit ball of the 2025 season, and the hardest ever tracked by Statcast, a 432-foot missile of a home run with an exit velocity of 122.9 mph. He also crushed a 463-foot home run in Anaheim that soared way beyond the trees in center field. With his elite bat speed — 100th percentile — Cruz has the ability to awe the crowd with a potentially all-time performance.
Why he might not: Like all first-time contestants, can he stay within himself and not get too caught up in the moment? He has a long swing, which will result in some huge blasts, but might not be the most efficient for a contest like this one, where the more swings a hitter can get in before the clock expires, the better.
2025 home runs: 23 | Longest: 425 feet
Why he could win: Although Caminero was one of the most hyped prospects entering 2024, everyone kind of forgot about him heading into this season since he didn’t immediately rip apart the majors as a rookie. In his first full season, however, he has showed off his big-time raw power — giving him a chance to become just the third player to reach 40 home runs in his age-21 season. He has perhaps the quickest bat in the majors, ranking in the 100th percentile in bat speed, and his top exit velocity ranks in the top 15. That could translate to a barrage of home runs.
Why he might not: In game action, Caminero does hit the ball on the ground quite often — in fact, he’s on pace to break Jim Rice’s record for double plays grounded into in a season. If he gets out of rhythm, that could lead to a lot of low line drives during the Derby instead of fly balls that clear the fences.
2025 home runs: 19 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: The Athletics slugger has been one of the top power hitters in the majors for three seasons now and is on his way to a third straight 30-homer season. Rooker has plus bat speed and raw power, but his biggest strength is an optimal average launch angle (19 degrees in 2024, 15 degrees this season) that translates to home runs in game action. That natural swing could be picture perfect for the Home Run Derby. He also wasn’t shy about saying he wanted to participate — and maybe that bodes well for his chances.
Why he might not: Rooker might not have quite the same raw power as some of the other competitors, as he has just one home run longer than 425 feet in 2025. But that’s a little nitpicky, as 11 of his home runs have still gone 400-plus feet. He competed in the college home run derby in Omaha while at Mississippi State in 2016 and finished fourth.
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 442 feet
Why he could win: Chisholm might not be the most obvious name to participate, given his career high of 24 home runs, but he has belted 17 already in 2025 in his first 61 games after missing some time with an injury. He ranks among the MLB leaders in a couple of home run-related categories, ranking in the 96th percentile in expected slugging percentage and 98th percentile in barrel rate. His raw power might not match that of the other participants, but he’s a dead-pull hitter who has increased his launch angle this season, which might translate well to the Derby, even if he won’t be the guy hitting the longest home runs.
Why he might not: Most of the guys who have won this have been big, powerful sluggers. Chisholm is listed at 5-foot-11, 184 pounds, and you have to go back to Miguel Tejada in 2004 to find the last player under 6 foot to win.
CHICAGO — Chicago White Sox great Paul Konerko got a present from one No. 14 to another in honor of the 20th anniversary of the 2005 World Series championship run: a jersey signed by noted Chicago fan Pope Leo XIV.
Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, presented Konerko a jersey with the new pontiff’s signature on the back during a ceremony prior to the game against the Cleveland Guardians. It had the six-time All-Star’s last name and “Pope Leo” above the No. 14.
Robert Prevost became the first pope from the U.S. in the history of the Catholic Church when he was elected on May 8. The Chicago-born missionary, who took the name Leo XIV, is a White Sox fan.
Prevost attended the 2005 World Series opener against Houston in Chicago. He watched from Section 140, Row 19, Seat 2 as the White Sox beat the Astros 5-3 on the way to a four-game sweep and their first title since 1917.
In May, the team unveiled a graphic installation near the seat paying tribute to Pope Leo and that moment. The pillar artwork features a waving Pope Leo XIV, along with a picture from the TV broadcast of the future pope sitting with good friend Ed Schmit and his grandson, Eddie.
Members of the 2005 team are in Chicago this weekend to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the championship run. The White Sox debuted uniform patches honoring late closer Bobby Jenks, who died last week in Portugal, where he was being treated for stomach cancer. On Friday, the team unveiled a statue of former ace Mark Buehrle.
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