Bernard Hopkins: “I don’t even know who the botanist Caleb is, he basically got his butt off”
By: Hans Themistode
Making history is often accompanied by surprised faces and unbelievably raised eyebrows but for Bernard Hopkins, there is nothing out of the ordinary about that.
Over the weekend, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Canelo Alvarez crossed tough waters against Caleb Plant to become the first super middleweight champion of all time. Although Plant was a significant underdog, he performed very well early on.
Despite displaying incredible boxing prowess, he eventually succumbed to Alvarez’s might, losing in round 11.
Long before the two exchanged fists in front of the crowded Vegas crowd, Hopkins had trouble recognizing who Plant was. While Plant has kept his IBF crown for more than two years, Hopkins only shrugged as he continued to admit that before Plant stepped into the ring with Alvarez, he was unfamiliar with his job.
“I don’t even know who Caleb Plant is,” Hopkins told a group of reporters. “Seriously, I’ve heard of him but I don’t know what he looks like. I am not familiar with his style and abilities. ”
Despite the fact that Hopkins knew nothing about Plant’s skill set, the newly introduced Hall of Famer was amazed by the praise he was receiving. According to most experts, Plant was expected to see his demise in the early part of their competition. However, it was the 29-year-old player who really let Alvarez down.
In stoppage time, all three of the referee’s scorecards were in favor of Alvarez but with a reasonably close margin. In particular, judge Patricia Morse Jarman gave a score of 96-94 in favor of Alvarez.
With Plant receiving rave reviews for giving Alvarez a tougher-than-expected battle, Hopkins is on his own side. In his opinion, the former title holder should not have received such high recognition for losing through the equalizer.
“Basically he was very good. Do you get a reward for hitting your butt? “
