By Dan Ambrose: Carl Frampton says Caleb ‘Sweethands’ Plant must follow Floyd Mayweather Jr’s blueprint to beat Canelo Alvarez by outboxing him this Saturday night on November 6th.
Frampton states that Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) should avoid standing his ground and slugging with Canelo (56-1-2, 38 KOs) because that would play his strengths.
In the past, IBF super middleweight champion Plant has stood and brawled at certain stages of his fights. Still, the former two-division world champion Frampton advises him against doing this against Canelo.
The Mexican star has too much punching power, and it only takes one good shot from him to put his opponents in trouble.
In Canelo’s last fight, he fractured his opponent Billy Joe Saunder’s right orbital bone in the eighth round after hitting him with a big uppercut.
It’s going to be difficult, if not impossible, for Plant to move continually for twelve rounds without tiring out and being trapped by Canelo.
Plant hasn’t done a lot of clinching in the past, but it would be advisable to tie Canelo up to keep him from teeing off.
Plant must follow Mayweather’s blueprint
“Erislandy Lara definitely gave him [Canelo] trouble, and a lot of people felt that he may have won that fight. It was very, very close,” said Carl Frampton to Boxing Social. “Plant has to outbox him like Mayweather did.
“I think Plant has the ability to move like Lara, but I think Canelo is a better fighter now than when he fought Lara [in 2014].
“So, I think he [Plant] has the skill set to give him trouble certainly, and I think it’s really interesting that he’s brought in Andre Ward and Vergil Hunter in his team.
“It gives you a bit of an indicator of how he’s going to approach the fight. I know how Andre Ward would have fought Canelo, and I think that he could give him problems. But I just feel like he’ll work Plant out at some point.
“I think Plant is an amazing fighter, but I don’t think to have that nice moving style, you need to be able to punch at some point extremely hard.
“If you can move like Plant and punch like Golovkin, then you might have someone who will be able to beat Canelo,” Frampton said.
Plant can outbox Canelo and move like Mayweather, but it’s going to be difficult for him to do that for 12 rounds without fading. Once Plant tires out, Canelo will pounce on him and look for the KO.
With Canelo’s power, he’s going to win rounds even if he’s landing three or four hard shots. The judges give more weight to Canelo’s hard shots than 20 to 50 light shots that Plant is hitting him with.
Frampton: Plant shouldn’t stand his ground
“I don’t think he [Plant] has to stand his ground at all. If I were with his team, I would tell him that’s the last thing he wants to do. We all know how this game works.
“Canelo is the superstar in this fight, and close rounds will probably go to Canelo, especially in Vegas as well. But if I were Plant, I wouldn’t be standing and trading with Canelo at all. I think that’s the wrong approach for him.
“I don’t think he punches hard enough to do it, and I think it’s something he’s done in the past where he’s stood and traded with fighters when he gets a bit brave.
“If you’re Plant’s team, you’re drilling with him that movement is key to giving you a chance of winning the fight. As soon as he stands still and has a fight with Canelo, that’s right up Canelo’s street,” Frampton said.
Plant’s marginal opposition has made it possible for him to stand and trade frequently. The only fight during his seven-year professional career in which he paid the price for standing his ground was against Jose Uzcategui in 2019.
Plant was hurt several times in the late going by Uzcategui, and he was lucky to escape with the victory. The rest of the guy’s Plant has fought during his career were mediocre to give him any problems when he stood and traded.
Plant’s last eight opponents:
- Caleb Truax
- Vincent Feigenbutz
- Mike Lee
- Jose Uzcategui
- Rogelio Medina
- Andrew Hernandez
- Thomas Awimbono
- Juan De Angel
In looking at Plant’s opposition during the last five years of his career from 2016 to 2021, it’s clear that his promoters have protected him with their match-making.
