The contest pits the first in history undisputed super middleweight champion up against a current WBA light heavyweight titleholder in the scheduled for twelve rounds world championship bout. Alvarez handed Callum Smith his first professional defeat with a unanimous decision victory in San Antonio, Texas, for the WBA, WBC and The Ring super-middleweight titles. Canelo’s indestructible chin, implacable advance, and strong ring cutting give him the tools to force Plant into an unwinnable, phone booth-type fight. On May 8, Alvarez squared off with England’s Billy Joe Saunders, the unbeaten WBO titleholder, in the second outing of Canelo’s two-fight deal with promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing and DAZN. Next to the massive, brick-fisted David Benavidez, he might have the best shot of anyone at 168 pounds of halting Canelo’s momentum. Phoenix’s Benavidez called out Morrell, among others, following his third-round, technical-knockout victory versus David Lemieux on May 21 at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona. The bout will take place at the Grand Garden Arena at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada which has staged plentiful events including world championship boxing, over the 22 years that it has existed. And the hope is that with only six months between his win over Martin Murray and this coming bout, he won’t get terribly out of shape and have to dedicate as much if not more time to his weight as he does his boxing in camp.
There was a split-decision draw between them in September 2017, followed a year later by a contentious Canelo win on points. After a one-sided win against Yildirim, Canelo made Billy Joe Saunders his next victim. Elite pound-for-pound fighters Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Gennadiy "Triple G" Golovkin returned to the ring on successive evenings just before Christmas with emphatic victories. Golovkin was a hugely successful amateur who made a seamless transition into the paid ranks, building a reputation for both his power punching and ring acumen. Afterward, seen in footage posted to Twitter by Steve Boxman, Alvarez and Plant met in the middle of the ring. Talk of a trilogy fight between Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin resurfaced (though, to be clear, it never really went away) after both recorded impressive victories. A big chunk of that money went to paying taxes and other expenses, but he still did well.
Canelo Alvarez is still in search of a foe after a long-negotiated deal with Caleb Plant fell through at the 11th hour. As in his three other bouts of the year, there was little reason to expect much in the way of drama or even competitiveness, but Caleb “Sweet Hands” Plant was the last belt-holder still standing in the super middleweight division. So, with the likes of Demetrius Andrade, and Gennadiy Golovkin out of his grasp, Charlo could be on his way to the super middleweight division. Fellow world champions Jermall Charlo and Demetrius Andrade are strong options for a fighter who needs to capitalize on his position in the twilight stages of his career. He fully unified boxing’s four super middleweight titles in less than 11 months by beating British champions Callum Smith (WBA, WBC) and Billy Joe Saunders (WBO) last December 19 and May 8, respectively, and Plant.
With just one loss on his 60-fight record, Alvarez is considered by many as pound-for-pound the best fighter in the world, and has already claimed world titles at super-welterweight, middleweight, super-middleweight and light-heavyweight. Alvarez will defend his WBA (super) and WBC super-middleweight titles against Yildirim at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami with a limited number fans in attendance due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Per sources, Alvarez will earn about $45 million, GGG $30M. GGG: A third meeting is a gamble that will be deemed worth taking. Marcos Hernandez, former Super Bantamweight champion Rey Vargas’ Featherweight debut, and Welterweight prospect Elvis Rodriguez taking on undefeated Juan Pablo Romero. The deputy shot Beth Plant before taking her to the hospital, where she tragically succumbed to her injuries. Even with noteworthy advantages in height and reach, I’m just not convinced Plant can keep Canelo off of him. Canelo quick to cut him off again and he connects with a right-left combo. His rapid-fire combinations and slick movement may dazzle early, but once Canelo starts to really put on the squeeze, it’ll turn into an increasingly one-sided slugfest. To Hearn, who has also drawn the ire of Saunders for perceived favoritism in the direction of Alvarez, Saunders' actions may have been a continuing attempt to mentally prepare himself for facing the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport.