The Mexican will seek to snatch the IBF title from Caleb Plant and be the first boxer to own all four belts at the same time in the 76kg category.
The Mexican king pound for pound Saul Canelo Álvarez has his sights set on joining an exclusive club this Saturday, since aims to become the first undisputed super middleweight champion in boxing history.
The 31-year-old star takes on Caleb Plant at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas looking to add the belt of the International Boxing Federation (FIB), from his American opponent, to their titles from the World Boxing Association (WBA), the World Boxing Council (WBC) and the World Boxing Organization (WBO) in a winner-takes-all showdown.
Alvarez would become the sixth male fighter since the WBO began managing world title fights in 1988 to simultaneously hold all four belts on boxing’s governing bodies.
Just five other boxers, the ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk (cruiserweight), Americans Bernard Hopkins (middleweight), Jermain Taylor (middleweight) and Terence Crawford (super lightweight), and Scotsman Josh Taylor (super lightweight), they have had all four belts at once.
“Only five male boxers in boxing history have managed to become undisputed champions,” Alvarez said. “I want to be the sixth. That is the only thing I have in mind ”.
“This fight is going to be history. You will witness something that you will remember for a long time ”, added the Mexican.
Alvarez last defended his titles in May, defeating British Billy Joe Saunders to submission with an eight-round TKO in Arlington, Texas, to improve to 56-1 with two draws and 38 knockouts.
The only blemish on Alvarez’s record remains his majority decision loss to Floyd Mayweather. at the MGM Grand in 2013.
It will be a monumental surprise if Plant adds another loss to the Mexican’s record on Saturday: Bookies have Alvarez as the favorite.
Final preparation for Saturday’s fight has seen both men quell the animosity that erupted at their head-to-head press conference in Los Angeles in September, when Alvarez took offense at a rant laden with expletives from Plant and landed a punch that cut through. the American under his right eye.
“It crossed the line”
“He crossed the line and maybe too much, that’s why it’s personal,” Alvarez said after the conference, accusing Plant of insulting his mother.
However, the Mexican adopted a different tone earlier this week, insisting that he would be calm and calculating as usual once he steps into the ring on Saturday.
“It’s very different when you’re in the ring, so I don’t really get anything out of our altercation at the first press conference,” he said. Canelo.
Plant, who brings a record of 21-0 (12 knockouts), insists that he did not mean to insult Alvarez’s mother.
Caleb’s own mother, Beth Plant, was shot and killed by police after brandishing a knife at officers while receiving medical treatment in 2019.
“I didn’t mean to get under Canelo’s skin at the first press conference,” Plant said. “I think the media take advantage of it more than we do. We’ve both been in worse fights than that. When the bell rings, it is completely different. “
The death of Plant’s mother two years ago marked another traumatic chapter in a life touched by tragedy. In 2015, Plant’s 20-month-old daughter Alia, who had been born with a brain abnormality that left her prone to seizures, died after a respiratory infection that turned into pneumonia.
Those experiences have shaped Plant’s journey to Saturday’s showdown and mean he is unfazed by the prospect of facing one of the most accomplished and ruthless boxers.
“I have to get the job done by any means necessary,” Plant said. “That is what my team and I have done so far to get to this point. Whether in boxing or in life, I have come here by all means necessary. ” (D)
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