WBA (Super), WBC, WBO, and The Ring super middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and IBFsuper middle champion Caleb Plant meet this weekend, November 6, to determine who is the undisputed super-middleweight champion.
Plant is unbeaten in his career with a record of 21-0 and 12 knockouts. This is undoubtedly a step up in quality for the American and many consider him the vast underdog in this encounter. However, given his silky style, many believe he can pose Alvarez some difficult questions.
The rivalry jumped up a gear and turned personal at their press conference when Canelo alleged that Plant made some derogatory remarks about his mother. The pair traded blows with Plant sporting a cut under his eye.
Canelo is one of boxing’s biggest draws today and not only is he looking to become an undisputed champion for the first time, but it’ll be the first time the super middleweight division is undisputed, too.
talkSPORT have compiled predictions from some of the biggest names in the world of boxing below for the big showdown between the feisty rivals.
Andre Ward – retired undefeated two-weight world champion: Plant win
“I’m not a believer when you face a guy that’s powerful or a guy that’s supposed to have punching power you’re [supposed to] avoid him and being perfect for 12 [rounds].
“Like, I don’t believe in that. Like, I like to go rattle their cage. In fact, you gotta [sic] rattle the cage.
“What I mean by that is that sometimes you gotta [sic] go to that power and smother it.
“You gotta [sic] let them know, whoever it is, hey, you can get hurt, too.
“Caleb is a guy that has more power than they realize.
“I think he’s physically strong. I just think it’s always crazy until you do it. It’s easy for fans to choose – the easy pick is Canelo because of his history and everything he accomplished.
“But I’ll support Caleb, win, lose, or draw. But I think he has a great opportunity to go out there and shock the world. He just needs to put his mental on and make it happen.”
Oscar De La Hoya – former six-weight world champion: Canelo win
“What I think is going to happen, Canelo’s going to have a little bit of trouble in the first few rounds against Plant. Because Plant has little boxing technique, that he’s going to move around and move side-to-side.
“But Canelo has skill, has power, and he’ll walk him down eventually and probably even stop him in like the ninth, tenth, eleventh round. That’s my prediction.”
Eddie Hearn – Matchroom chairman: Canelo win
“It’s a good fight. Caleb Plant is an exceptional fighter. He’s a great mover, has good fundamentals; I just don’t see him beating Canelo Alvarez. I’ve been watching boxing for 33 years live and I’ve never seen anything like him.
“And I’ve watched [Floyd] Mayweather live, Mike Tyson, Prince Nassem Hamed, Joe Calzaghe, I’ve watched great Brits, Mexican fighters, I’ve watched [Manny Pacquiao], I’ve watched [Juan Manuel] Marquez – I’ve seen all these guys live and I’ve never seen anything like Canelo Alvarez.
“Plant has a chance because he’s a world class fighter. He’s a brilliant fighter, he’s always got a chance, but something has to go wrong [for Canelo[, you know what I mean?
“If you get the best Canelo Alvarez against the best Caleb Plant, Canelo Alvarez wins 10 times out of 10.
Ryan Garcia – 21-0 lightweight: Canelo win
“It’s going to be a good fight, but, I’m not just saying it, Canelo will win by knockout. I say eighth round, Plant’s corner throws in the towel.
Andy Ruiz Jr – former unified heavyweight champion: Canelo win
“I think it’s gonna be a hell of a fight.
“We can’t take anything away from Caleb Plant, but I feel Canelo’s gonna be the bigger man, the stronger man.
“He’s just an amazing counter-puncher and he’s just always first and last.”
Mike Tyson – former undisputed heavyweight champion: Canelo win
“Caleb Plant ain’t lasting the distance. He’s going to get clocked. He’s going to get so f***** up. With two human beings, anything is possible, but I think [Canelo] is going to f****** kill him.
“He’s your friend? You’re going to his funeral. Wait till Alvarez starts hitting that motherf****** body.”
Shawn Porter – two-time former welterweight champion: Plant win
“If this fight wasn’t Canelo Alvarez, Caleb Plant has ten fights, but beating this one guy, beating Canelo Alvarez puts him in the Hall of Fame. He has to have a Hall of Fame performance, he’s got to use his speed and he’s got to use his confidence.
“He’s got to use his power. I do know he’s got power that’s overlooked and we will see what happens. I think if there is somebody in the boxing world that can beat Canelo, it will be Caleb Plant,” said Porter.
Carl Frampton – Former two-weight world champion: Canelo win
“Canelo can be beaten, but it’s very hard for me to see who beats him. I thought that Callum Smith would have given him real issues and he literally walked through Smith – it was one of his best wins in my opinion.
“I think Plant gives [Canelo] trouble, but I don’t think he beats him. I think [David] Benavidez gives him trouble if that fight ever happens, but I don’t think he beats him. You have to move up to light heavyweight to find someone who might beat him.”
Matthew Hatton – Former light-middleweight title challenger – Canelo win
“It’s difficult because Caleb Plant is an excellent fighter, but I do think, and I’ve been saying this for some time, around those kind of weights Canelo is becoming almost invincible for me.
“I think it is going to be an excellent fight, a quality fight. Is Plant going to win the fight? Personally I don’t think so as I can’t see anything else but an Alvarez win.
“Two quality fighters and I’m looking forward to it. Canelo seems to be around his peak now, his defence has got better over the years.
“The less punishment you take then the longer you can go on for. I think over the last 12 months he has looked at his peak, so I don’t see any decline soon, to be honest.”
Billy Joe Saunders – Former WBO super-middleweight champion: Canelo win
“I’m gonna go with Canelo on points because of the reason of being Canelo. I know how hard it is to get a decision, what tricks they might play leading up.”
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