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Canelo Alvarez anticipates some difficulties during the early stages of his upcoming fight against Caleb Plant.
The first round of their super middleweight title unification fight November 6 will be especially tricky, according to Alvarez. Once he adjusts to the unbeaten Plant’s style, though, Alvarez believes beating the IBF 168-pound champion could become relatively easy.
Showtime’s Brian Custer asked Alvarez during the most recent episode of Custer’s “The Last Stand Podcast” if their fight will be reminiscent of his most recent victory over Billy Joe Saunders. England’s Saunders (30-1, 14 KOs) was competitive versus Alvarez for seven-plus rounds, until Alvarez fractured Saunders’ left orbital bone by landing a right hand during the eighth round that prevented Saunders from answering the bell for the ninth round May 8 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“Yeah, same, but different because Billy Joe Saunders is southpaw and Caleb Plant is orthodox,” Alvarez said during an episode that dropped this week on YouTube. “So, it’s gonna be I think maybe a little easy for me.”
Plant promised to give Alvarez even more trouble than other technicians, most notably Floyd Mayweather and Erislandy Lara, in their 12-round fight for Alvarez’s WBA, WBC and WBO championships and Plant’s IBF belt.
“We’ll see,” Alvarez said before referring to his majority-decision defeat to Mayweather and his split-decision victory over Lara. “But that’s a long time ago. I’m way different now. Way different fighter now, so we’ll see November 6th. I can’t wait.”
The 31-year-old Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KOs) senses Plant is in for quite a surprise next month if he expects to encounter an opponent comparable to the fighter who faced Mayweather and Lara.
“I’m more mature, I’m more strong, more complete fighter, with more experience,” Alvarez said. “I’m a complete fighter now. I’m in my peak.”
The 29-year-old Plant hasn’t lost as a pro (21-0, 12 KOs), yet he has not faced nearly the level of opposition Alvarez has boxed over the past decade. Plant, of Ashland City, Tennessee, exudes extreme confidence, but most handicappers have made Mexico’s Alvarez at least an 8-1 favorite in advance of their Showtime Pay-Per-View main event at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
“The first round is gonna be difficult because of his style,” Alvarez said. “But I know how to break down the style. Maybe after five rounds, I’m gonna do my things.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.