Even now, in the welterweight division, Haymon is exercising from the same position of power by keeping unbeaten WBO champion Terence Crawford at bay from Haymon’s two-belt champion Errol Spence Jr. But in seeking to retain that privilege from the “B” side with IBF champion Plant and his thin resume, Haymon got straight-armed in the same manner he’s delivered it to others all these years. What I mean by that is that sometimes you gotta go to that power and smother it. You have to give him respect, he hasn’t ducked anyone, he’s beaten good names, but nobody is unbeatable, and I believe I have got the tools to beat him if I use them properly and if the gamelan comes off that I believe works. “I prepared for this and I told y’all I was going to make it easy and fight depending on how I wake up, and I woke up feeling good.
He’s tough and has some skills; he’s someone where I think if he’d gotten the prospect treatment going pro, he might have been in a world title fight by now. The richly talented 29-year-old has arguably endured frustratingly slow progress since turning pro, but this is in part down to anticipation over how high his ceiling might be. Haymon presided over this kind of chest pumping for the better part of a decade with Mayweather, as Mayweather and Haymon made Manny Pacquiao wait for five years until they had the right deal. Yes, if everyone planted a tree it would be a step in the right direction but it’s not enough. Alvarez last fought in May to take the WBO belt from Billy Joe Saunders and had been expected to return to the right to fight Texan IBF champion Plant this September. It’s almost like the WBA shouldn’t have put that fake belt on him in the first place. On to the anthems we go, Pike Romero first with the Mexican national anthem. Canelo likes to fight on Mexican Independence Day weekend. Haymon finally said no, littering the sport with chaos over the possibility of Mexican Independence weekend slipping by without a major fight.
The increasingly decorated Mexican fights for the first time since stopping American Caleb Plant to become the undisputed super-middleweight champion in December last year. This will be the first pay-per-view bout of Plant’s career. Former U.S. Olympic hopeful Keyshawn Davis will make his professional debut on the undercard of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s next bout Feb. 27 in Florida. Davis is turning pro instead of waiting for the chance to fight for an Olympic medal later this year in Tokyo, where the lightweight likely would have been the most likely candidate to end a 17-year gold medal drought for the U.S. He’s 28 years old, and the time this year is to fight in a big event. Canelo, at least, has been facing intense competition over the past few years. Throw in last February’s wipeout of Avni Yildirim and it’s clear Canelo is on a hot streak, one which he intended staying on by facing Plant. The fact that a Canelo-Plant match fell through, then, should probably be a surprise to no one.
Canelo Alvarez takes on Avani Yildirim for the WBA (Super), The Ring and vacant WBC super middleweight title match on Saturday, February 27, 2021 (2/27/21) at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. He will fight at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens before Alvarez’s mandatory title defense against Avni Yildirim. “Canelo, I’m ready to rock and roll,” said Saunders. I’ve won everything from Southern Area to World titles, I could say ‘I’ve won it all, been to the Olympics, I’m unbeaten - I’ll see you later’. “People talk but I’m a very mature fighter and I know how to control myself. By pursuing a fourth and final super-middleweight belt, four-division champion and pound-for-pound king Canelo flexed his “A” side status by demanding a series of concessions from Haymon and his Premier Boxing Champions fighter Caleb Plant. Alvarez readily embraced his role as the “B” side because he wanted to get in the ring to witness boxing at its highest level. Canelo, a promotional and network free agent, was offered a one-fight deal with Al Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions that will likely net Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KOs) a career-high guaranteed payday.