By: Hans Themistode
Boxing fans all around the world are flocking to Las Vegas, Nevada, this coming weekend. Not just because they want to witness Canelo Alvarez vs. Caleb Plant live but because they want to fill their pockets with a few extra bucks.
No matter who steps up to the betting window, their wager, more times than not, has been the same. Canelo via stoppage.
Admittedly, Plant isn’t too fixated on the betting market. Considering his tendency to shrug off his doubters and take care of business in the ring, Plant is fully convinced that when the dust settles this Saturday night, countless people will have lost a significant amount of money.
“Those oddsmakers can have me as an underdog,” said Plant to a group of reporters. “I’ve been an underdog my whole life. I’ve been proven them wrong my whole life. At the end of the day, they’ve been wrong before and they’re wrong now.”
Plant, 29, has proudly worn his IBF super middleweight title for well over two years. Most recently, Plant made it look incredibly easy against former titlist Caleb Truax, winning every round on all three judges’ scorecards earlier this year in January. Still, despite his title reign, the Nashville, Tennessee native has yet to face anyone the Caliber of Alvarez.
The Mexican star, on the other hand, occupies a top-tier spot on virtually every credible pound-for-pound list thanks to victories against the likes of Gennadiy Golovkin, Daniel Jacobs, and most recently, Billy Joe Saunders.
With three of the four 168 pound world titles in Alvarez’s possession, coupled with the IBF trinket of Plant, the winner of their showdown will become the division’s first undisputed super middleweight champion of all time.
For a number of years now, Plant has expressed an overwhelming amount of confidence in his ability to knock Alvarez off his high horse. The betting market, however, simply isn’t buying it. With training camp now done and over with, Plant’s self-belief is at an all-time high. Although the 29-year-old has proven to be one of the more slicker boxers in the sport, come Saturday night, he plans on bringing the action right to Alvarez from the beginning.
“Saturday night, I’m a be right up in his face.”