By: Sean Crose
“Sparring’s been going great,” Caleb Plant recently told Fight Hub TV’s Marcos Villegas in an interview. “I’m just going to continue to sharpen up.” With just weeks to go before the undisputed super middleweight championship battle between himself and Canelo Alvarez, Plant is undoubtedly feeling the heat. You wouldn’t know it to look at the man, however. In the Villegas interview, the Tennessee native appears as cool and confident as always.
Indeed, Plant didn’t appear rattled when Villegas brought up the physical confrontation he had with Canelo during the press conference announcing their match. “What led to my escalation was him pushing me,” Plant said of his actions during the altercation. “You’re going to retaliate.” Still, the 29 year old looks to have taken everything in stride. “Why he got so irritated and lost his cool, that’s a question to him,” Plant said of Canelo. “I take that altercation with a grain of salt.”
Not being rattled by pound for pound great Canelo doesn’t mean one is going to defeat the man in the ring, however. Villegas asked Plant how he intends to best the red haired star after the opening bell rings. “I feel like if I go out there and be myself than that’ going to be the key to victory,” Plant said. “It just comes down to me going out there and being myself.” And Canelo’s reputation for being a favorite of judges? “I can’t worry about things like that,” he stated. “Those are things that are out of my control.” Plant even went on to indicate he feels the judges will effectively do their jobs when he faces Canelo on November 6th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
“I literally feel like this is my destiny,” Plant claimed. “This is something I truly believe in my head, I truly believe in my heart.” Self belief can go far, but many – if not most – will favor the seemingly indominable Canelo heading into their fight next month. That’s understandable. Canelo has gone from a young and outmatched Mayweather opponent to a ferocious, patient and sharply skilled master in less than ten years. Plus, his resume is frankly far more impressive than Plant’s. Still, Yordenis Ugas didn’t have the resume of Manny Pacquiao when they recently fought – and Ugas walked out of the ring the winner.
“(There) will be a lot of lessons that night,” Plant said in reference to November 6th..