By: Sean Crose
Although it might not be the most enticing undercard in the history of pay per view, there are a series of matches that will appear on the undercard of Saturday’s Canelo Alvarez-Caleb Plant event at the MGM Grand Garden Resort and Casino just outside Las Vegas. The 11-1-1 Elvis Rodriguez will be battling the 14-0 Juan Pablo Romero in a scheduled 10 round junior welterweight affair. Rodriguez was last in the ring back in May, when he was bested by Kenneth Smith. As for Romero, he last saw action in April when he bested Deiner Barrio by decision. Blessed with a colorful name and some legit talent, Rodriguez is going to want to look sharp on Saturday. Two loses in a row can truly derail the man’s career.
The undefeated, 34-0 Rey Vargas will also be slipping into the ring at the MGM Grand this weekend to face the 21-4 Leonardo Baez in a scheduled 10 rounder at super bantamweight. Vargas was last spotted decisioning Tomoki Kameda in July. Baez’s last fight was in August when he stopped Jorge Alfredo Pitta in the 6th. Vargas, the division’s former WBC titlist, will be looking to impress.
As for the co-main of Saturday’s card, the 33-2-2 Anthony Dirrell will square off against the 15-4-2 Marcos Hernandez. A former super middleweight titlist, the 37 year old Dirrell, is hoping to return to form after fighting Kyrone Davis to a draw back in February. Hernandez, of course, is looking to leave his mark on the division by upsetting the well known veteran Dirrell. He’s only knocked out three opponents during the course of his career, but Hernandez is an exciting fighter to watch in the ring.