Canelo Alvarez was already a pound-for-pound great and the boxer many fans believed to be the biggest attraction in the sport before last night’s fight with Caleb Plant. But now the Mexican boxing icon can add undisputed champion to his long list of accolades.
The bad blood between the two men was well-known to the boxing public in the weeks leading up to the fight. The boxing match lived up to the hype. Canelo faced more adversity inside the ring than many fans expected.
Caleb Plant boxed masterfully at times. The problem for Plant was his inability to do anything to slow Canelo’s aggression. The newly crowned undisputed super-middleweight king kept coming forwards and weakened Plant with a committed body attack.
Plant ran out of time in the 11th round. A combination that included a left hook and right uppercut resulted in the first knockdown of his career. The former champion beat the ten count but a Canelo flurry ended the contest a short time later.
Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant Show Respect
The two men spoke briefly after the fight and were able to put their differences aside. “We’re men at the end,” Canelo explains. “We had a great fight today.”
Canelo Alvarez also commended Caleb Plant on his boxing ability. “He’s a very difficult fighter with a lot of ability,” Alvarez said minutes after the contest. “My respect to Caleb Plant.”
Canelo Alvarez is now 57-1-2 as a professional fighter. Alvarez earned $40 million along with his 39th knockout by stopping Plant.
Caleb Plant lost the first of his 22 fights against Alvarez. The 29-year-old boxed impressively but was never able to earn Canelo’s respect with a punch. Plant earned a career-high $10 million for his fight with Canelo.
Caleb Plant was unavailable to the media following the fight. A PBC spokesperson says the Nashville native was taken to University Medical Center for observation.