How Boxing Star Caleb Plant Has Become a Style Influence In and Out of the Ring

Boxing star Caleb Plant is no stranger to major moments.

Last October, Plant scored the knockout of the year, disposing of Anthony Dirrell in the ninth round of their fight at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Plant got the statement win in boxing boots that were the talk of sneakerheads leading up to the fight, a custom look inspired by the ultra-rare Nike Dunk SB Low “Freddy Krueger,” which were designed by The Shoe Surgeon.

“It’s real natural for me to have the idea of turning some of my favorite sneakers into boxing shoes and bringing them to the ring,” Plant told FN. “I’m not looking to be the most fashionable boxer or anything. I just wear what I like. It just so happens that a lot of people like what I wear too.”

Although it wasn’t his intention to go viral with his in-ring attire last fight, there’s a chance it will happen again when he faces David Benavidez on March 25 at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Once again, Plant linked up with The Shoe Surgeon to create a custom boxing boot, this time using the iconic Nike SB Dunk “What the Dunk” as inspiration.

His style outside the ring has also been recognized by leading brands. For instance, Plant was the face of the campaign promoting the spring ’23 collection for sportswear and training apparel label ASRV, and he recently collaborated on an apparel collection with MNML, which was inspired by his birthplace of Tennessee and his adopted home of Las Vegas. Plant has also worked with display case company Looksee Design to create his own acrylic sneaker cases. The cases, which hit retail in January 2022, feature an engraving of his face that’s paired with a lengthy quote, as well as a light at the bottom.

Plant also has launched his own collection called Revenge Tour.

“After coming up short in the Canelo [Alvarez] fight [in November 2021], I was going on a revenge tour to right that wrong. As many stops as that takes, I’m willing to go through the fire to right that wrong,” Plant said. “People may think revenge is a negative thing, but if you can channel the emotions from people saying you can’t do something or coming up short in something you worked hard to get, you can get something positive out of it. I think that’s something a lot of people can relate to. I thought it would be a dope concept and people have really taken into it.”

So far, Plant has released two Revenge Tour drops, one with a T-shirt and a second broader offering consisting of a T-shirt, a hoodie, shorts and a trucker hat.

Revenge Tour, according to Plant, is something he will continue even after his boxing career comes to an end.

“I have a bunch of ideas stored in the vault that I plan on releasing throughout my career to build that up to where it’s a big part of what I’m doing even after my career,” Plant said. “I’m moving away from the merch like most fighters do, the thin athletic T-shirts, and doing actual quality streetwear and beyond. This camp, I dropped a Caleb Plant action figure, just trying to bring new things to the boxing world.”

He’s even found ways to use his collection to get under his upcoming opponent’s skin.

“I bought the domain Davidbenavidez.com back in 2019 knowing we would fight one day,” Plant said. “With this fight coming about, I linked it to my website and told everyone to go to Davidbenavidez.com and get the collection. The quality of the clothes is important, but equally as important is the marketing and the branding behind that. We had a crazy presale. It was a one-week presale and we sold a lot of merch.”

This love of fashion also runs through his family. His wife, Fox Sports reporter Jordan Plant, announced this month that she was entering the world of fashion with JP Athletics.

“My wife works out religiously, and she’s also into fashion and sneakers,” the boxer said. “Instead of doing a normal clothing line, she felt like it would be more natural for her to release an athletic line based around women — sports bras, spandex shorts, leggings, water bottles, bags. It’s something that she’s passionate about, something that she believes in and I support that.”

The upcoming megafight and Showtime promotional program “All Access” has also allowed more people to see his fashion tastes, specifically when it comes to sneakers. Much of his collection was on display on the show, which includes rare shoes, high-heat collaborations and more.

Speaking with FN, Caleb said Air Jordan 1s and 4s, Nike Dunks and shoes from Salomon Sportstyle are what he’s into the most. He also mentioned several statement sneakers in his collection, including an Air Jordan 1 “Chicago” from 1985, which he said is his favorite, and the Air Jordan 1 rehab shoe built with an ankle strap that Nike made for Michael Jordan after the NBA icon broke his foot late in 1985.

Although he is wearing sneakers more often than not, he admitted he is a fan of Birkenstocks as he travels back and forth to the gym. And aside from a couple pairs of Gucci or Alexander McQueen sneakers, he’s not the biggest fan of designer brands.

While in training camp, Caleb said he rotates through roughly 20 different pairs of boxing shoes, which are all Nike, and runs in the latest Asics Gel-Nimbus.

As for where he shops, Caleb said he is a mainstay at local destinations Feature and Culture Kings, and also buys sneakers online via StockX on Grailed. Plant also shops at secondary market standout Urban Necessities, owned by Jaysee Lopez.

“That’s one of my good friends, someone I’ve known for a long time,” he said. “I remember when he had a small store at the Boulevard Mall here in Vegas and now he’s got Urban Necessities at [The Forum Shops at] Caesars [Palace] and he’s venturing out and opening even more stores.”

While Caleb is keen to take a quick break from training to talk footwear and fashion, he’s laser focused on Benavidez.

“Right now, this is the most important part of my career,” Plant said. “This is No. 1 versus No. 2, there’s a big time rivalry here, and there’s an interim title on the line. The person who wins becomes the mandatory for the WBC title, which Canelo has, so I could put myself in a spot to have a rematch with Canelo and right a wrong.”

Caleb also shared what an ideal 2023 would look like.

“It would be win on March 25, becoming the WBC interim champ, expanding my brand, investing my money well, scooping up a couple more rental properties,” Plant said. “And if Canelo is busy with with anything that he has going on, then I’d love to get a fight with [middleweight champion] Jermall Charlo and become Fighter of the Year.”