By: Sean Crose
“This Nov 6th we’ll put Mexican boxing on top. Let’s go for the missing belt!”
These words, which appeared on Canelo Alvarez’ Instagram page on Thursday, made it clear to the world that he will indeed be fighting fellow supermiddleweight titlist Caleb Plant for the undisputed supermiddleweight championship of the world on November 6th. Word had been out earlier in the day, courtesy ESPN, that the two men were indeed going to face off in the fall. Canelo then essentially made things official. The agreement has been made, the contract has been signed, the fight has been announced to the world. All there’s left for the two camps to do now is to prepare for the match itself. Canelo’s WBA, WBC, and WBO titles will be at stake, along with Plant’s IBF title.
“I am very excited to have this fight before me,” ESPN quotes Canelo as saying. “I am happy because I am going to make history, and in my career that’s exactly what I want to do — leave my mark in boxing.” For a time, it looked like the fight might actually go down in September. Negotiations fell through, however, and it then looked like Canelo might be fighting again in the light heavyweight division. Both sides, however, clearly wanted the match made.
“You’ll see soon,” Plant stated on Instagram Thursday, “I promise you.” For the 29 year old Tennessee native, this is nothing less than the chance of a lifetime. Canelo is seen by many as the single best fighter in the world today. What’s more, the 31 year old Canelo is one of the most popular and wealthy athletes on the plant. Although he’s well known to hard core fight fans, this is truly Plant’s first time stepping into the spotlight. Although he’ll clearly walk into the ring as the underdog this November, few would deny Plant’s notable skill set. Will it be enough for Canelo, however?
Since dropping a decision to Floyd Mayweather back in 2013, Canelo has moved on, grinding his way to the pinnacle of the sport. This is, simply put, not the young man who was easily outclassed by Mayweather all those years ago. This version of Canelo is patient, confident, and explosive in his punching. Aside from a pair of controversial decisions against Gennady Golovkin – another great – no one has shown they can keep up with man. Yet Plant is slick, has a killer instinct when the opportunity arises, and like Canelo, is confident in his abilities. People may not give the American much of a chance against the Mexican icon, but it would be ridiculous to write Plant off here.