Plant feeling indestructible for Canelo Alvarez fight

By Boxing News - 11/03/2021 - Comments

By Dan Ambrose: Caleb ‘Sweethands’ Plant says he’s feeling “indestructible” and he thinks it’s his “destiny” to defeat Canelo Alvarez on Saturday night.

(Photo credit: Amanda Westcott/SHOWTIME)

We’re going to see if Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) is indestructible during the championship rounds against WBA/WBC/WBO super middleweight champion Canelo (56-1-2, 38 KOs).

If Plant’s energy disappears as it did in several of his fights, Canelo is going to take full advantage of that. A knockout win for Canelo isn’t beyond the realm of possibilities that can happen in this fight.

Plant seems like he’s trying to boost his own confidence by talking in positive terms about his fight with Canelo.

Caleb hasn’t said what his game plan for the fight is, but most boxing fans expect him to try and box for 12 rounds and hope he can get lucky with the judges.

Plant destined to beat Canelo

“This is my moment. I feel like this is my destiny. I’m supposed to win, and I feel that in my heart. I just got to go out there and execute the game plan,” said Plant.
Image: Plant feeling indestructible for Canelo Alvarez fight

“He can’t think as good as I can think, I know that.  “In all good fights, it comes down to adjustments. No concern,”  said Plant when asked if he’s worried about the possibility of the judges robbing him.

“I can’t put any energy into that. That’s out of my reach, out of my control, and I can’t focus on that.

“The only thing I can focus on is my team and my game plan, and I just got to believe that the right people have been put in place to make the right call.

“It’s nothing for me to be mad about. I’ll whip his a** and take his belts. This is a big week with history in the making. The first undisputed super middleweight champion coming soon.

“I’m relaxed, I’m focused,  I’m feeling good and my weight is good and everything is on point.

“I’ve been in rough waters, and I’m sure it’ll be the roughest come Saturday night. But some people will perform better when they’re being booed and there’s a big crowd and some people will want you to lose. Some people are gym fighters.

“I think we can all agree that I’m not a gym fighter. When it was time for me to step up and fight Porky in Texas and when I fought Uzcategui in front of a bunch of fans.

“I  like when people root against me because I feel that puts me in the best position to bring the best out of me,” Plant said.

If it’s Caleb Plant’s destiny to beat Canelo, the Mexican star can’t change the outcome. Canelo can be outboxed, and we’ve seen that happen several times in his career.

A win for Plant isn’t out of the question, but he can’t run out of gas as he did against Jose Uzcategui. If Plant fades in the second half, he’ll wind up getting knocked out as Billy Joe Saunders did against Canelo.

Canelo’s opponents lack confidence

“Just their posture, the way they walk, the way they talk, and the way they approach him and the way they fight,” said Plant when asked what makes him believe that fighters are already beaten even before they fight Canelo.

“It may have been hard for him to come up with a bunch of game plans when Canelo only gave him five-week notice and that’s four training weeks,” said Plant in responding to a question of why Callum Smith failed to make adjustments against Canelo.

“A man his frame, it’s hard to make 168. So to make 168  with half a camp, get sharp, get sparring, What does that tell you right there? What’s his mentality going into the fight?

“Is he really trying to win that fight, is he putting himself in the best position to win that fight? So how can he really believe he’s going to win?

“I can’t speak for everybody. I don’t know their mentality’s but overall, at least a handful, they lose before they get in the ring.

“I’m not worried about his mentality and I don’t care what his game plan is. I’m not focused on anything he’s doing.

“And I’m focused on me and my team and my game plan and what I’m focused on what I’m doing and that’s it,” Plant said.

In the case of Sergey Kovalev, Avni Yildirim, and Billy Joe Saunders, they all looked like they lacked confidence going into their fights with Canelo.

Plant hoping for  a face-off with Canelo

“I hope so,” said Plant when asked if there’s going to be a face-off between him and Canelo. “It was normal-fight banter. ‘I’m going to beat you.’ It seems like he lost his temper and lost his cool,” said Plant.

Given what happened last time Canelo and Plant had a face-off in September in Los Angeles, it’s not a good idea for them to do it again.

You can bet that if the two fighters have a face-off for the final press conference or weigh-in, Plant will make sure he says something to anger Canelo.

Once that happens, Canelo will have an excuse to attack him again. We’ll then likely hear Canelo justify his behavior after the fact by saying, ‘He crossed the line,’ even if it’s something the Mexican star has said to his past opponents.

“That would be a question for him, and I responded the way I was raised to respond and taught to respond.  I’m a fighter. So, whoever puts their hands on me, this is the way it’s going to be.

“I think he knows they’re coming in to hand their belt over and he knows that’s the situation with this fight.

“So he’s trying to pull me out of my game plan and get me riled up. Whatever the situation may be, but that’s a rookie move. I’m not silly.

“I wasn’t too surprised,” said Plant when asked if he was surprised when Canelo put his hands on him. “How many times has it happened before us and how many times will it happen after us.

“I think people make a big deal out of it because it’s a headline and it’s a way for you guys to promote whatever videos you guys are making,” said Plant.

The shove by Canelo might have been something he planned ahead of time because he did the same thing in one of his press conferences with Gennadiy Golovkin in their rematch in 2018.

Golovkin didn’t try and hit Canelo after being shoved by him the way Plant did.

Caleb is ready to conquer 

“We’re not just up here keeping our fingers crossed hoping they’ll turn out the way they should. That’s not how life works.

“If you want something in life then you got to believe it, you got to know it and you got to feel it in your heart, but you got to work for it.

“People go through things in life where they put in a certain amount of work in and a certain amount of time.

“Eventually, you feel indestructible for whatever you’re doing and that’s the point where I’m in my life where I feel like I can conquer everything and anything,” said Plant.

Caleb sounds like he’s well-prepared for Saturday’s undisputed clash with Canelo Alvarez, so we’ll see if he pull off the upset.

Plant has dominated every one of his 21 opponents during his career, which is one reason why he likes his chances on Saturday.

In other words, Plant doesn’t know how to lose yet, so it’s going to take some doing for Canelo to teach him.

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