Boxing is BACK with another heavy-hitting PPV, this time headlined by its biggest star, Canelo Alvarez, who is set to face Tennessee’s undefeated IBFsuper middle-weight champion Caleb Plant. Although Canelo is oftentimes regarded as the pound-for-pound king and one of the all-time greats in the sport, he knows to never get ahead of himself. Especially with an opponent as dangerous and as polished as Caleb Plant. Truth be told, Plant is easily the biggest opponent Alvarez has faced since his majority decision win against GGG, back in September of 2018. Boxing fans all around the world have anxiously waited for this showdown, and now that the table is set, let’s take a closer look at our fighters and get a prediction.
THE TAPE:
Measurements:
Canelo – Height 5’9”, Reach 70.5”.
Plant – Height 6’1”, Reach 74”.
Stance: Orthodox – Both
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez boasts one of the most decorated boxing records ever, sitting at a whopping 56 wins (38 by KO), 1 loss, and 2 draws, all at a young age of 31 years old.
Caleb “Sweethands” Plant is the younger of the two fighters, 29, and has a perfect record of 21 wins (12 KO) to 0 losses. The fight will be for the undisputed super middleweight championship of the world, with the WBC, WBA, IBF & WBO belts on the line. Both fighters will need to make the 168 pound weight limit.
Out of the two fighters, Alvarez is the clear favorite. Outside of Plant’s diehard fans and immediate family, nearly every sportsbook has Canelo winning the Super Middleweight showdown, and for good reason. Alvarez has been a professional boxer since the young age of 15 years old, and has a slew of quality wins versus some of boxing’s best fighters, compared to Plant who has been a pro since 2014. That gives Canelo 303 more professional rounds, as he sits at 425 total rounds fought to Plant’s 122. Alvarez’s lone loss was to one of the greatest ever, Floyd “Money” Mayweather. Canelo was only 23 years old at the time. Caleb Plant’s resume is not nearly as qualified as Canelo’s, with his biggest fight being a TKO win over German boxer Vincent Feigenbutz, but make no mistake about it, the guy has power and he knows how to box. It’s obvious the two don’t like each other, seen in videos like this one.
https://twitter.com/TheBoxingFeed/status/1440418526481641480?s=20
Although I sincerely believe this fight will be among one of the best we’ve had in lately, especially for Canelo, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t see Alvarez coming out with a victory. His head movement is amongst one of the most elite I have ever seen, and his ability to wear you down with the jab, his insane body control and head movement, his power to hit you with a counter punch like his coveted left upper-cut, I think it’s enough to beat the much longer Plant. Lest us forget, Canelo defeated Callum Smith who was 7 inches taller (6’3”), and had a 7 inch reach advantage (78”), both measurements are 2 and 4 inches longer than Plant’s. Alvarez is the king of PPV’s, and has made Las Vegas the home for a majority of his bouts, reeling in a ton of support from his loyal Mexican followers. Plant has to embrace the underdog role here, and hope he can feed off the energy from everyone betting against him. With so much riding for Canelo, a loss here will be one of the greatest upsets the sports world would have ever seen.
Prediction:
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I personally see the fight ending in 1 of two ways, both victories for Canelo. We know he likes to feel out the competition at first, utilizing the first 3-4 rounds as a homework assignment to understand the style and the knacks of his opponents. With that being said, don’t be surprised to see Plant looking extremely comfortable early on. Remember, Plant hasn’t fought in nearly 10 months so he’s going to have a ton of energy going in as an underdog, and is going to be really chippy, swarming Canelo early. However, the experience and the defense from Canelo should not go unnoticed and should not be forgotten. He’ll sneak in some counterpunches, he’ll be composed, and most of all, he should turn the jets on in rounds 5-6 and really start to take the fight to Plant. With that being said, if Canelo can execute his game plan right, and wait to land the perfect counter, I can see him dropping Plant in round 10 with either a left hook or a devastating left uppercut. If Canelo starts slower than usual, and gets rattled early, I see him taking over in an earlier round, throwing his plan off, but still getting the victory via decision behind some strong rounds near 8-11. All in all, it should be an exciting fight with two of boxing’s biggest stars.
