Sports arenas are filling up again, and that’s a great sign for the sport of boxing.
This weekend, from Las Vegas, SHOWTIME pay per view will bring us the sport’s next big fight, as Canelo Alvarez faces off IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Plant.
Alvarez of course holds the WBA, WBC, and WBO titles, and is relishing the opportunity to become a unified champion. In his way is the brash Plant, and undefeated and savvy boxer who now resides in Las Vegas himself.
During a recent appearance on Brian Custer’s The Last Stand podcast, Alvarez admitted how much this matchup means to him.
“It means a lot for my legacy,” said Alvarez. “This fight is really important for us, for me, for Mexico, for the fans, for me team, because I’m going to be the first Mexican-American fighter to be undisputed champion. So for me it’s really important because at the end of the day I just want to make history.”
Alvarez and Plant had a press conference that ended with the two men staring one another down and swinging at each other. Alvarez offered his take of what went down.
“I just (took off my sunglasses for the face off) because I want to see the eyes good. But he don’t take his glasses off so, it doesn’t matter. But when I push him, you see when he’s coming I just see something, ‘he’s gonna throw something or do something’ so that’s why,” said Alvarez. “The thing (that) bother me when he said ‘you motherfucker’; for us that means a lot. So for Mexicans it means a lot so that’s why for me he crossed the line and that’s why I push him.”
Plant was spotted training up in the Bay Area with former two-division champion Andre Ward, who also believes Caleb will win on November 6th. But Canelo doesn’t seem fazed.
“I really don’t care,” said Alvarez. “I really don’t care, at the end of the day it’s me and him so I don’t care who train him and what he do, I’m gonna be in the ring with him and do my things and I have more experience, I have skills, and I’m gonna show that.”
Plant also believes that Canelo struggles with boxers, bringing up his loss to Floyd Mayweather and his fights with Billy Joe Saunders and Erislandy Lara. Alvarez says he is a different fighter.
“A long time ago,” said Alvarez. “We’ll see, but that’s a long time ago but I’m way different now. Way different fighter now so we’ll see November 6th. I’m more mature, more strong, more complete fighter with more experience. I’m a complete fighter now, I’m at my peak.”
Alvarez envisions a tough fight early, but still is confident he will score a stoppage.
