By Barry Holbrook: Caleb Plant is hoping that Canelo Alvarez will win his tough battle against WBO super middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders on May 8th to meet up with the Mexican star in September.
IBF super middleweight champion Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) has decided to rest up for the next six months to wait for the smoke to clear from WBA/WBC champion Canelo’s unification fight against Saunders (30-0, 14 KOs) on May 14th.
Plant, 28, sustained an injury to his left hand from his title defense against IBF mandatory Caleb Truax on January 30th. He wants to let it heal to be ready to face Canelo or Saunders in September.
That’s going to be a huge fight, as all four titles will be at stake, and the winner will make history by becoming the first undisputed champion in the history of the 168-lb division.
If Plant pulls it off, it would be a huge victory, as he’s not expected to beat Canelo when the time comes for them to meet. If Saunders is the one that Plant meets up with, there’s a good chance he’ll be the favorite against the Brit.
“It would be a historic night that will leave us the first undisputed champion in the history of the Super middlemen, and do you know who he will be?” said Caleb Plant to ESPN Knockout about a fight between him and Canelo for the undisputed championship.
“First (Canelo) has to beat Billy Joe Saunders in May, if he can get past him and get the belt, hopefully, we can fight in September and give the fans what they want,” said Plant.
We’ll have to see whether Canelo emerges as the winner against Billy Joe Saunders in May because that will be a difficult fight for the 30-year-old Alvarez.
Saunders is in the prime of his career, and he’s got the perfect fighting style to neutralize Canelo’s offensive weapons. When Saunders is in shape and motivated, he’s almost unbeatable. In fact, Saunders has never been beaten, so it’s impossible to say that Canelo will be the one to defeat him.
Will Canelo Alvarez up with the right game plan to crack the Saunders’ code on May 8th? If not, Plant will need to take a stay-busy fight against another opponent in September while waiting for Canelo to fight a rematch with Saunders.
It’s not a good idea for Plant to sit inactive until 2022 before fighting again, even if he’s worried about losing. He needs to keep his career moving, and he can’t stall it out while waiting on Canelo.
“Canelo stepped into the ring and did what he had to do, had a successful night, and imposed his strategy,” Plant said about Canelo’s recent victory over Avni Yildirim.
“I think his rival did not give everything in the ring, he did not take anything from Canelo, but when you remain seated in the third round, that is not giving 100 percent,” said Plant.
“At this level, if you want to become a unified champion, make history and get into the books, you have to go out there and give it your all. Canelo did his job, and now we have to see what’s next,” said Plant.
The only thing you can say about Yildirim (21-3, 12 KOs) is maybe he felt hesitant about letting his hands go against Canelo because he gave him the opportunity for the payday.
Yildirim was previously Canelo’s sparring partner in the past, and, likely, he wouldn’t have gotten the title shot if the Mexican star didn’t like him. Did Yildirim feel conflicted about whether he should throw shots against a guy that gave him a chance to earn millions?
Some boxing fans believe Sergey Kovalev didn’t go after Canelo in their fight in 2019 out of a sense of gratefulness for being given the massive payday fight.
It was very odd how Kovalev failed to let his hands go in that fight, and it was like watching an entirely different fighter than the one that had fought just months earlier against Anthony Yarde.