By Sean Jones: Negotiations for the September 18th fight between 168-lb champions Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant are moving along. According to Mike Coppinger, the fight is ‘closing in” to a dealing getting made to televise the undisputed match on FOX pay-per-view.
We’ll see if PBC and FOX made a mistake or not by choosing to put Canelo-Plant on PPV. If they’re expecting over 1 million buys, they could regret placing this fight on pay-per-view. It might do far less than 1M buys, possibly below 500K.
ESPN is reporting the Canelo – Plant fight is close to being done for this important clash, which will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada.
WBA/WBC/WBO super middleweight champion Canelo (56-1-2, 38 KOs) only needs Plant’s IBF title to hold all four belts at 168, making him the undisputed champion in the weight class.
Assuming the negotiations are completed, this will be a one-fight deal for Canelo. He’s a network-free agent, and he intends on staying that way.
Promoter Eddie Hearn says Premier Boxing Champions prefers that Canelo agree to a three-fight deal, given the fact they would like to match him against David Benavidez and Jermall Charlo.
Errol Spence Jr is another PBC fighter that Canelo would possibly have the option to face if he signed a deal with them.
Canelo to get a career-high payday
According to Mike Coppinger, Canelo will get a career-high payday for the fight against Plant. With the purses that Canelo and Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) will be getting for the fight, the pay-per-view will have to cover that to make money.
Plant, 28, is the IBF belt-holder, but he does not bring much to the table as far as pay-per-view buys. He’s not a PPV guy. Plant normally fights on regular Showtime, and his resume is littered with fringe-level fighters. He recently successfully defended his IBF title
Although Plant has been called out many times by former two-time WBC super middleweight champion Davis Benavidez, he’s chosen not to fight him.
The success of the Canelo-Plant fight on FOX PPV will likely rest on the shoulders of Canelo, who will be the one that boxing fans will be willing to pay $70 to see.
Can Plant help sell the fight?
Plant might as well be a prop for this fight; he’s not someone that Canelo can count on to attract much interest from boxing fans. He’s there as the token 168-lb belt-holder.
Canelo has captured world titles at super middleweight, beating Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders, and Rocky Fielding. Plant is no different from those fighters in terms of talent, and that’s why many boxing fans were hoping Canelo would choose a better opponent.
They’ve watched Canelo easily beat Fielding, Saunders, and Callum in dull, one-sided fights, and they were hoping that he would mix in a talented opponent for a change of pace. Unfortunately, Canelo wants to complete his mission right away, so Plant will likely be next.
Canelo has been fighting on DAZN and hasn’t had to worry about fighting opposition that would help bring in pay-per-view buys since his fight with Gennadiy Golovkin in 2018.
That’s the beauty of DAZN. Canelo could face guys that the U.S fans weren’t familiar with, and he didn’t have to be concerned about PPV because DAZN paid him regardless.
In facing Plant on PBC on FOX PPV, Canelo will have the pressure on him to help sell the fight. If this deal gets done, selling the fight will be up to Canelo and his team. Plant doesn’t have much charisma to speak of, and he’s not well known enough to assist Canelo. Plant is another Billy Joe Saunders type of fighter, but with less personality.
Plant’s recent opponents:
- Caleb Plant
- Vincent Feigenbutz
- Mike Lee
- Jose Uzcategui
- Rogelio Medina
- Andrew Hernandez