Eddie Hearn: Canelo vs. Plant is the fight everyone wants

By Boxing News - 06/16/2021 - Comments

By Sean Jones: Eddie Hearn wants to get the undisputed 168-lb championship fight negotiated between Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant for September 11th. Hearn says he’ll be speaking with Canelo (56-1-2, 38 KOs) to start working on getting this fight made. Some fans view Plant as Saunders 2.0, a fighter with no power who tries to outbox his opposition.

Hearn says the Canelo-Plant fight is the one that “everyone wants.” That’s a bit of a stretch. Plant wants the fight, you can say that, but not “everyone” wants to see Canelo choose this guy.

Is there a demand for Canelo vs. Plant?

Canelo has already had three easy fights in a row against Billy Joe Saunders, Callum Smith, and Sergey Kovalev. It’s time that Canelo step it up against elite-level fighters once again instead of fighting belt-holders.

It’s fair to say that there’s more interest from fans in seeing Canelo fight Jermall Charlo, David Benavidez, Gennadiy Golovkin, or Demetrius Andrade than seeing him fight Plant.

Benavidez, Andrade, Charlo and GGG are a threat to Canelo. Power-wise, Plant can’t punch, and he’s no threat. As I previously mentioned, Plant is more of a Billy Joe Saunders type.

It might not be worth it for Canelo to complete his goal of unifying the 168-lb division if Plant prices himself out. He wants a lot of money, and you can argue that he should get the same amount as Canelo’s recent fights against Billy Joe Saunders and Callum Smith.

Unfortunately, Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) reportedly sees $10 million as a good starting point, and that’s a steep price for a fighter who doesn’t have a huge fan base outside of his home state of Tennesse.

Plant has had three low-level fights since he picked up his IBF 168-lb title two years ago against Jose Uzcategui.

Plant’s three fights since capturing the IBF title:

  • Mike Lee
  • Vincent Feigenbutz
  • Caleb Truax

Those were non-risky fights for the 28-year-old Plant, and they did nothing to establish him as a big name at super middleweight. David Benevidez recently called Plant out wanting to fight him, but there’s no interest on his part.

Image: Eddie Hearn: Canelo vs. Plant is the fight everyone wants

Caleb wants to sit idle until September

Plant says he bruised his hand in his win against 38-year-old Caleb Truax in January, and he wants to rest it until he faces Canelo in September. That would take eight months of rest for Plant, which is a lot for a 28-year-old fighter nursing a bruise.

The way that Plant intends on sitting idle until September suggests that he’s afraid to defend his IBF title for fear he’ll get beaten.

It looks suspicious like Plant is sitting on his IBF title like it’s a golden egg that won’t hatch until September 11th when he faces Canelo. The Canelo fight would be so much bigger if Plant chose to take a risk by fighting Benavidez (24-0, 21 KOs), David Morrell, or Carlos Gongora while waiting on Canelo.

“I have a call with Canelo in the next few days to go through the plan of action,” said Hearn to Pro Boxing Fans about talks for a fight between Alvarez and Plant. “It’s the fight that everyone wants, and hopefully, you’ll see that on September 11th.”

Canelo has already captured three of the world titles at super middleweight, and he needs Plant’s WBO strap to finish what he started back in 2018.

Caleb Plant NOT fighting the best says, Sergio Mora

“We can be criticizing Caleb Plant,” Sergio Mora said to the DAZN Boxing Show. “He’s not fighting the best. But you can bet your butt that he’s happy with his career.

Image: Eddie Hearn: Canelo vs. Plant is the fight everyone wants

“He’s about to cash in on a 10 million dollar paycheck, and he hasn’t fought anybody since picking up the title,” Mora continued in pointing out the obvious about Plant’s woeful resume as the IBF 168-lb champion.