Canelo Alvarez vs. Caleb Plant – live results

By Boxing News - 11/06/2021 - Comments

By Mark Eisner: WBA/WBC/WBO super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez (57-1-2, 39 KOs) showed off his huge power in stopping IBF champion Caleb ‘Sweethands’ Plant (21-1, 12 KOs) in the 11th round to become the first-ever undisputed champion at 168 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Canelo dropped Plant twice in the 11th round to get the knockout and make history!

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Boxing News 24 will be giving live fight results below:

  • As expected, former two-time WBC super middleweight champion Anthony Dirrell (34-2-2, 25 KOs) made short work of his overmatched opponent Marcos Hernandez (15-5-2, 3 KOs) stopping the light-hitting fighter in the fourth round in the chief support bout. Dirrell, 37, nailed Hernandez with a big right uppercut that knocked him out in the fourth round. The fight was halted after the referee counted out the 28-year-old ‘Madman’ Hernandez, who came into the fight having lost three out of his last six fights. The win for Dirrell was his first in two years since 2019.
  • Unbeaten former WBC super bantamweight champion Rey Vargas (35-0, 22 KOs) defeated the always tough Leonardo Baez (21-5, 12 KOs) by a 10 round unanimous decision in featherweight action. The scores were 100-90, 99-91, and 100-90. Vargas was too busy for Baez, and he just ran away with the fight from the first round. With that said, Baez made it tough on Vargas by continually coming forward looking to throw his shots. There was no quit in Baez despite him being overmatched. Baez the fight harder than expected for the 30-year-old Vargas, who looked tired from the fast pace in the championship rounds.
  • Light welterweight prospect Elvis Rodriguez (12-1-1, 11 KOs) looked impressive tonight in crushing previously unbeaten Juan Pablo Romero (14-1, 9 KOs) by a fifth round knockout in a scheduled ten round bout. Rodriguez, 25, dropped Romero in rounds four and five. The contest was halted after Romero was counted out in fifth. The time of the stoppage was at 2:59. The hard-hitting Rodriguez came into the fight tonight having lost his previous bout to Kenneth Sims Jr. last May. Sims may have been a little too advanced of n opponent for Rodriguez at this early juncture of his three-year pro career.
  • Super flyweight Fernando Diaz (10-1-1, 3 KOs) destroyed Jan Salvatierra (7-1, 3 KOs) by a fifth round knockout. Diaz knocked Salvatierra down in the fifth. After he got up, the fight was halted because he was too hurt to continue.
  • In an upset, super featherweight journeyman Jose Antonio Meza (8-6,  2 KOs) defeated previously unbeaten Jose Gomez (12-1, 5 KOs) by a close eight-round unanimous decision. The scores were 76-75, 76-75, and 76-75. Gomez started off strong, knocking Meza down in round one. However, Meza came on strong in the second half to wear down the unbeaten Gomez to get the victory.
  • Undefeated flyweight Joseslito Velazquez (14-0-1, 9 KOs) defeated journeyman Gilberto Mendoza (19-11-3, 10 KOs) by an eight round unanimous decision. The scores were 80-72, 80-72, and 80-72. It was an excellent performance by the 2016 Olympian Velazquez.
  • Former super featherweight champion Rances ‘Kid Blast’ Barthelemy (29-1-1, 15 KO’s) made short work of Gustavo Vitorri (25-10-1, 12 KOs) by a second round knockout. The 36-year-old Cuban Barthelemy dropped the 32-year-old Vitorri twice in round two. The referee halted the fight after the second knockdown. The time of the stoppage was at 1:54 of round two. Barthlemey showed that he’s still got a lot of ability despite having lost to Kiryl Relikh in 2018, and fighting to a 12 round draw against Robert Easter Jr. in 2019.

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Preview:

Although Canelo is the favorite, he’s facing a highly skilled and determined Plant, who has talent that some compare to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Erislandy Lara.

Both of those fighters gave Canelo pure trouble in the past, and we could see him struggle tonight if Plant’s engine lasts for the full 12.

Josh Taylor picking Canelo to win

“That’s a great fight. I believe if there’s anyone that has the ability to beat Canelo it’s Caleb Plant with the way he moves, boxing ability, and his slickness,” said Josh Taylor to Fight Hub TV.

“He [Plant] uses his feet really well, which I’ve seen Canelo have a little bit of trouble with in the past, getting a little bit frustrated at times with people that can sort of box and move.

“I think Caleb plant has the ability to do that and early doors in the first half of the fight, it’ll be a little bit tricky for Canelo,” said Taylor. “But I think Canelo will push on and find a way to win and will get the points in the end,” said Taylor.

“I think he’ll get a points decision, but I wouldn’t be overly surprised if Caleb Plant gets the decision if he outboxes him.

“Possibly but you never know,” said Taylor when told that many boxing fans believe Canelo will knock out Plant in the middle rounds.

“I think it’s going to be a points victory by decision for Canelo, but I wouldn’t be surprised that with Caleb Plant’s ability and the way he moves around and boxes, frustrates Canelo and outboxes him.

“That may be a possibility as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if Plant gets the decision either,” said Taylor.

Truax previews Canelo vs. Plant

“We got Canelo vs. Plant on Showtime pay-per-view in a super middleweight unification fight,” said Caleb Truax. “I believe it’s the first one ever in the super middleweight division.

“It’ll be interesting to see a guy have all fou belts after tonight. I’ve had a lot of guys asking me for interviews and my take on the fight. I got to a few of them but not all of them.

“And I think it’s a great fight. I think Plant offers some challenges to Canelo. He struggles with movers and speed guys in the past. Most of them have been left-handed, so it’ll be interesting to see how he does against a slick right-hander.

“I think the last one he fought was Mayweather, but Plant has a great jab, one of the best jabs I’ve ever faced. He’s got good feet, and he can move.

“I think he’s going to give Canelo problems early. Canelo has been a slow starter. I think Plant will use his jab and stay out of range for a few rounds.

Plant has to stay disciplined

“I think Caleb has the ability to win, but he’s got to be very disciplined because otherwise, you’ve to favor Canelo in a lot of different ways,” said Paulie Malignaggi to Tru School Sports.

“I think the only way for Caleb to win is he’s got to be very successful in the early rounds and not allow Canelo to land a big shot that could start debilitating him.

“I feel like every other scenario involves Canelo winning. I think Plant has to have the perfect first three rounds and box him. From there, he’ll have enough energy to hold off Canelo’s surge to try and overcome the deficit.

“But if Caleb has success early on but not perfect success, Canelo will start to land some big shots and despite the success, Canelo starts to break down Caleb late. I don’t think perfectionism is necessary for Canelo early.

“I think if Caleb is going to have a chance to win the fight, he’s got to box the way Caleb can at his best in the first three rounds and put Canelo in that hole.

“And then he can take that momentum into the later rounds. Caleb has all this energy in the beginning and does all this masterful boxing early on.

“You have to keep in mind the tenseness of the moment. It’s the biggest moment of your career and with the anxiety, loudness, and emotion of the moment. If you’re a smooth fighter, if you get emotional and tense, it will affect your style.

“I feel like that happened with Billy Joe Saunders. I’m curious to see if Caleb can keep his emotions in check in this kind of magnitude and atmosphere because it will be loud and it will be deafening,” said Malignaggi.

Plant won’t keep Canelo off

“I don’t think Plant has enough power to keep Canelo off of him for 12 rounds, and that’s what’s going to be the deciding factor in my opinion,” said Truax.

“I think Canelo will get to Plant and start touching up his body around six, seven, or eight, and I can see maybe a tenth round stoppage or a decision win for Canelo.

“Either way, I see Canelo winning the fight. Plant has got to fight a perfect fight in order to pull off a huge upset. I just don’t think he’s got the power to keep Canelo off him like I said for a full 12 rounds.

“It’s a great fight. I’ll be watching, and I’ll be fighting January 14th in an IBF eliminator and hopefully, I get the winner of the fight tonight,” said Truax in wishful thinking.

Heavy favorite Canelo Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KOs) will be looking to make history tonight when he faces IBF super middleweight champion Caleb ‘Sweethands’ Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) in undisputed championship contest at 168 at the MGM Grand Garden in New York.

This is a great fight between two of the best champions at super middleweight on SHOWTIME PPV. These two will decide who is the #1 fighter at 168, and it’s going to be fun to see which of them finds a way to win.