Those title wins have come across four divisions - light middleweight, middleweight, super-middleweight and light heavyweight - and the fighter considered by many as the best in the world is showing no signs of slowing down. Alvarez, the WBA Super, WBC and WBO super-middleweight title holder, is aiming to become the undisputed champion by taking Plant's IBF belt. The Mexican and the American meet at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in the early hours of Sunday morning with the former's WBA, WBC and WBO belts and the latter's IBF title on the line. He won the IBF and IBO middleweight titles against Sergiy Derevyanchenko in 2019. After two years away from the ring, Golovkin fought Ryota Murata in April. Unlike Lemieux and Chudinov, Ryder last fought in December 2020 and may be able to step in to face Plant if the IBF champion’s plan is still to fight in September. What this means for this fight and for Plant is that the margin for error is painfully close. Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez has warned Caleb Plant he 'will feel something different' as the two fighters stepped up their war of words in a tense weigh-in late on Friday night.
Speaking to 5 Live Breakfast at a BT Sport Box Office event, Alvarez admitted feeling animosity towards an opponent was a new sensation. They point to what seems like some favorable hand-picked opponent selecting, how he always seems to come out on the sunny side of close decisions, and how he’s generally the coddled megastar of the sport of boxing. I've dedicated my life to this sport. Even the fans kept their fingers crossed and they were pretty optimistic about seeing the Plant vs Alvarez fight coming to life. Alvarez came in at 168lb (12 stones) - the super middleweight limit - with Plant weighing in at 167lb (11.9 stones), before both boxers dialled up the rhetoric ahead of their unification fight. And he has continued taking on the best at 168, beating unbeaten super middleweight champions Callum Smith and Billy Joe Saunders. • Josh Taylor defeated Jose Ramirez to become the undisputed super lightweight champion, winning by scores of 114-112 on all cards. Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez himself appeared convincing in the match, winning seven rounds. Canelo Alvarez ticket prices start around $70 and go up to the $4000 range depending on the popularity of the fight, seat selection and venue.
Former WBC champion Benavidez will be a strong favorite over Plant if they fight, and defeat leaves Plant in a perilous place so much different from where he stood last week if they had accepted all of the Alvarez-imposed concessions. Negotiations between the two sides fell apart in July, with disputes over rematch clauses among the last-minute reasons the fight couldn't be made for the originally targeted Sept. In the middle of the round, Plant still had time to get up until he finally fell completely at the end of the round after receiving Alvarez's jab. Plant, with a remarkable 56-1-2 record, is a formidable opponent, though, with plenty of ring intelligence - and he has managed to get under Alvarez's skin. He is not known for his power punches, though, meaning he will be relying heavily on his excellent movement and boxing skills to upset the odds against Alvarez. And with an opponent like Plant, the notion that he will have to win 8-9 rounds to just get a draw makes it a daunting proposition to go against Alvarez.
It’s hard to envision Plant getting through 12 rounds unscathed enough to look the part of a winner. While Plant can only lead by three rounds. He’s going to need to be on the move, unveiling the full scope of his shiftiness while hoping that his shots curtail Canelo where harder punchers have failed in the past. Plant could make the Canelo fight bigger if he got in the ring and fought former two-time WBC super-middleweight champion Benavidez (24-0, 21 KOs), but he’s failed to make that move. Unbeaten former two-time WBC champion David Benavidez currently sits top of The Ring rankings. As for Plants. After the loss suffered to Alvarez, he did not do any post-fight interviews and left the ring straight away. But Dana White does not think Usman should try to box Canelo Alvarez, and with good reason. Plant's co-trainer Justin Gamber has insisted his fighter can use his physical advantages against Alvarez, but the three-belt champion has already demonstrated a superb chin against heavy hitter Golovkin and at light heavyweight against Sergey Kovalev. Since then, Canelo has moved up and down in weights, knocking out Sergey Kovalev at light-heavy before dropping back to 168 pounds to outclass the previously unbeaten Smith.