By Dan Ambrose: Canelo Alvarez thinks it will be effortless for him to defeat IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Plant on November 6th. Plant has a really bad style for Canelo, and there’s an excellent chance he’ll beat the Mexican superstar.
Canelo believes that the most challenging part about beating the undefeated Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) is to figure him out in the first round. After that, Canelo expects it to be easy, and we’ll see if he’s right on November 6th.
The two 168-lb champions got off to a roaring start during their Los Angeles press conference last September when Canelo shoved and then belted Plant.
Caleb ended up with a cut underneath his right eye, which is slowly healing. During an interview last week, you could still see that cut is still visible.
Plant only has 3 1/2 weeks of training camp remaining before November 6th.
That cut may have impacted Plant’s training for the fight. It is unknown whether it will make a difference in the outcome, but it’s disappointing that he was cut outside of the ring.
Hopefully, there is security present at the subsequent press conference to keep Canelo from attacking Plant again when he insults him because he definitely will.
It won’t be surprising if Plant uses the same “mother f*** insult as before to show Canelo that he won’t be controlled by him.
Becoming undisputed means a lot to Alvarez
“It means a lot to my legacy. This fight is really important to us, for me, for Mexico, for my fans, and my team because I’m going to be the first Mexican Latin American fighter to be the undisputed champion,” said Canelo Alvarez to The Last Stand Podcast with Brian Custer.
“For me, it’s really important because I want to make history. I’m doing my history, and other fighters do their history. I don’t want to compare myself to other fighters,” said Canelo when asked if a win for him to make him the greatest fighter in history.
“I just want to be me, the Canelo history, and everybody has had their own history.
“No, I just took them [sunglasses] off because I wanted to see the eyes,” said Canelo when asked why he took his sunglasses off during his face-off with Caleb Plant during their Los Angeles press conference last September.
“He didn’t take his glasses off, so it doesn’t matter,” said Canelo. “When I pushed him, I just see he’s coming, and he’s going to throw or do something, so that’s why.
“No, the thing that bothered me was when he said, ‘You mother f***, you mother f****.’ For us, it means a lot. For Mexicans, it means a lot. That’s why for me, he crossed the line, and that’s why I pushed him,” said Alvarez about Plant.
It would be interesting to know if Canelo truly cares as much as he says about him trying to become the undisputed champion at 168.
You can argue that using this as a goal for the last three years has given Canelo an excuse to fight weak opponents one after another. The belt-holders at 168 that Canelo defeated were flawed fighters and not dangerous, and they were seen as paper champions by some, and this writer agrees with that label.
Canelo captured his three 168-lb titles against these champions from the UK:
- Rocky Fielding
- Callum Smith
- Billy Joe Saunders
Breaking Plant’s jaw is Canelo’s goal
“I really don’t care. It’s me and him,” said Canelo when asked about his thoughts of Plant working with Andre Ward. “I don’t care who trains him or who. I’m going to be in the ring with him and do my things. I have more experience and skills, and I’m going to show that.
“And I will soon,” Canelo said in reacting to Plant saying, ‘He needs to prove that in the ring,’ in replying to Alvarez saying that he’s going to break his jaw.
“We’ll see,” Canelo said when told that Plant said that Alvarez has had problems with the boxers Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Erislandy Lara and that he’s bigger than them and has more power.
“That’s a long time ago, but I’m way different now. So, we’ll see on November 6th. I’m more mature; I’m more strong; I’m more a complete fighter with more experience. I’m a complete fighter now, and I’m at my peak.
“The first round is going to be difficult because of his style, but I know how to break down that style. Maybe after five rounds, I’m going to do my things.
“It’s the same but different because Billy Joe Saunders is a southpaw and Caleb Plant is orthodox,” said Canelo when asked if Plant is going to be the same type of opponent as former WBO super middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders.
“I think it’s going to be a little maybe easy for me,” said Canelo about the Plant fight. “We don’t know. We just have this goal [to become undisputed champion at 168] to unify these belts, and after, we don’t know.”
All this because Plant called Canelo a “mother f****”? Canelo is going overboard a little bit with his goal of breaking Plant’s jaw on November 6th.
Alvarez needs to focus on winning the fight and not letting Plant get to him mentally with his “drug cheat” comments. Although Canelo isn’t admitting that his true rationale for shoving Plant during the Los Angeles press conference was because he called him a “drug cheat,” many boxing fans believe that’s the real reason.
Canelo was pretty handy with the “mother f***” label when he used it against Demetrius Andrade last May.
Alvarez wants the best fights after Plant
“We’re going to rest a little bit, and then we’re going to see. I want to do the best fights out there. No, not really,” said Canelo when asked if there’s someone in particular in boxing that he wants to fight.
“I just want to fight the fights that the people want and make history. That’s all that I want, so we’ll see after the fight. I like being active, and I love fighting a lot. I want to fight three times, four times a year. For me, it’s good.
“I don’t really know,” said Canelo upon being asked if he wants to fight on Showtime and workd with Premier Boxing Champions in the future.
“I just want to have a relationship with all the promoters and do the best fights out there. If I need to fight on Showtime with PBC, I’m good. If I need to fight on DAZN with Eddie Hearn, I’m good. I just want to do the best fights out there.
“Great fight,” Canelo said about last Saturday’s contest between WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas. “I think Wilder needs more conditioning and more moves,” said Canelo.
If Canelo is serious about facing the best after Plant, he’ll need to prove it by fighting these guys:
- David Benavidez
- Carlos Gongora
- David Morrell Jr
- Artur Beterbiev
- Jermall Charlo
- Joe Smith Jr.
- Dmitry Bivol
- Joshua Buatsi
Errol Spence Jr. is too think for him to go up to 168 to face Canelo. A fight between them would be more of an event type than one designed to be competitive, and Spence barely beats fighters in his division at 147.
Alvarez open to Beterbiev, Bivol & Spence fights
“He doesn’t know how to move the head. It’s difficult when you don’t have conditioning, and you don’t know how to move. So, that’s why Tyson Fury beat him. Tyson Fury is a great fighter.
“We’ll see,” Canelo said when told that Jake Paul wants to fight him in another year.
“No, he’s a horrible fighter, and I never want to fight with him,” said Canelo when asked about potentially fighting Demetrius Andrade one of these days. “He’s [not] fought with anybody.
“We don’t know; in boxing, you never know, but we’ll see,” Canelo said upon being asked about his thoughts on facing IBF/WBC welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. “He’s a great fighter if he wants to come to my weight [168]. If not, I’m okay. He’s a great fighter, and we’ll see.
“Yes, why not?” said Canelo when asked about whether he’d like to return to the 175-lb division to challenge champions Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
We’ll see if Canelo goes up to 175 to face IBF/WBC champion Artur Beterbiev or WBA champion Dmitry Bivol.
Those guys are light years better than the fighters that Canelo has faced during his three-year journey to become the undisputed champion at 168.
It might be too much of a shock to Canelo’s system to take on Beterbiev after he faces Plant on November 6th, and that’s why this writer doesn’t believe it’ll happen, and it’s too risky for Canelo.
Jermall Charlo on Canelo’s target list
“Seven more years,” Canelo said in being asked how much longer he’ll fight before he retires. “I learn in every fight. I learn in every single fight. So, Mayweather, Cotto, Golovkin, and Jacobs. Every fight for me is an experience, and I learn from every single fight.
“Like I said, I represent Mexico, and that’s why I don’t like to fight with Mexican fighters anymore. But when you need to fight with somebody, why not,” said Canelo when asked if he’d be interested in fighting former two-time WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez.
“One of them,” said Canelo when asked if becoming the undisputed 168-lb champion will be the greatest achievement of his career.
“Great fighter,” Canelo said about Gennadiy Golovkin. “Caleb Plant,” upon being asked who upsets him more, Plant or Demetrius Andrade.
“Charlo,” said Canelo when asked who is more realistic for him to fight next, David Benavidez or Jermall Charlo.
“Canelo Alvarez,” said Canelo when asked if he’s the best fighter on the planet right now, better than Oleksandr Usyk, Terence Crawford, and Tyson Fury.
It might prove more difficult than Canelo realizes in getting Jermall Charlo to agree to a fight with him.
He seems to think Canelo will come back down to 160 for a fight against him, and he doesn’t quite realize that he’s not going to be able to call the shots.
Either Charlo agrees to go up to 168, or he won’t get the fight with Canelo. It’s simple as that, which is why it’s unlikely Canelo will face Charlo.
Unfortunately, Jermall seems more focused on milking his WBC 160-lb title against weak opposition for easy paydays.
