By: Hans Themistode
Everything appeared to be going smoothly between Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant. The two sides were working out intense negotiations behind the scenes for an upcoming September 18th showdown.
The moment Alvarez landed the deleterious blow on Billy Joe Saunders in early May to rip away his WBO super middleweight world title, he made it no secret that he wanted Plant and his IBF belt. With a win, the Mexican star would become the first undisputed world champion in super middleweight history.
But while Alvarez has vehemently stated on numerous occasions that he would love nothing more than to face Plant, the Nashville, Tennessee native is of the belief that the pound for pound star is all talk.
“His bark is bigger than his bite,” said Plant to ESPN. “I question whether legacy or money is their real motive.”
As of yesterday afternoon, negotiations for their September showdown hit a bump in the road. Plant, 28, is incredulous that there having any issues at all. In his opinion, he’s acquiesced to nearly every demand Alvarez has asked for but that seemingly isn’t enough.
“Canelo was offered the highest guarantee of his career,” continued Plant. “He was set to make $40 million plus Mexican TV rights and his Hennessy Sponsorship. No problem, let’s fight. We gave it to him. Then they wanted upside of gate and PPV revenue; no problem, let’s rumble.
It was always agreed that it was a unification, no rematch for either fighter. Towards the end of negotiations, they asked for a rematch when they lose. No problem, you can have the rematch as well, I just wanna fight. We tried to give him everything he wants and more to make this fight.”
Although Plant believes both he and his team have been more than accommodating, he can’t say the same for team Alvarez. After successfully defending his title for the third consecutive time this past January against former titlist, Caleb Truax, Plant turned his direction towards Alvarez. The 28-year-old has made his feelings known that becoming an undisputed champion has been on his mind since he turned pro in 2014.
Nevertheless, with Alvarez making what Plant maintains as outrageous demands, he believes the sand inside the hourglass is wasting away.
“One that is absurd: If I get injured or sick then he gets a late replacement for the same amount of guaranteed money, but if he gets sick or injured, then we gotta wait for him. We’re at seven-and-a-half weeks from the fight; we’ve lost valuable time that should be spent promoting and drug testing for a fight of this magnitude.”