What was your choose for KO of the Yr for 2022? For some, the award went to the through-the-ropes KO Leigh Wooden scored over Michael Conlan, this within the remaining spherical of a real a featherweight slugfest. For others, the KO of the Yr was scored by Terence Crawford, this when the WBO welterweight and reigning (for some) pound-for-pound champ took out David Avanesyan in shuddering style.
Others nonetheless selected the KO handy-work Joe Cordina turned in to take out Kenichi Ogawa, this one happening at super-featherweight. Whereas some of us picked the chilling KO – chilling each earlier than and after the lights out second – that Caleb Plant scored over bitter rival Anthony Dirrell.
It was again in October when Plant and Dirrell fought in New York, on the undercard of Deontay Wilder’s return towards Robert Helenius. As spectacular as Wilder’s one-punch KO of Helenius was, Plant’s icing of Dirrell was extra spectacular, extra nasty.
The 2 super-middleweights had engaged in loads of back-and-forth trash-talk within the lead-up to their combat, with the dangerous blood being about as actual because it will get. Plant was coming off his first professional loss, this by the hands of Canelo Alvarez, and the previous IBF champ was 21-1(12). Dirrell, eight years the older man at 38 and a former two-time WBC champ at 168 kilos, was 34-2-2(25) coming in. Each males fought exhausting in attempting to safe victory.
It was an excellent combat, an entertaining combat, however the ending was X-rated spotlight reel stuff. Plant, often called “Candy Palms,” uncorked a candy left hand to Dirrell’s physique earlier than arising in a flash with a good sweeter left hook to the jaw. Dirrell went down closely on his again the moment the hook exploded, remaining immobile for a while. As his rival lay prostrate on the canvas, for all he knew in severe misery, Plant then ramped up the nastiness even additional, this by going into his “gravedigger” routine.
Plant mimicked an individual utilizing a shovel to dig, the tasteless act spoiling the great thing about his fairly beautiful knockout. Fortunately, Dirrell was okay. Greater than that, Dirrell confirmed sportsmanship in defeat, with the crushed fighter making no excuses for having been crushed (this so uncommon nowadays, when so, so many crushed fighters provide you with an X,Y and Z of excuses).
Plant was lethal in that ninth spherical, however he took the showboating far too far. Nonetheless, Plant scored, for a lot of, this 12 months’s most memorable KO. Plant definitely scored this 12 months’s nastiest knockout.
Agree or disagree?
Boxing Information » Caleb Plant’s Icing Of Anthony Dirrell Was 2022’s Nastiest Knockout