HE’S not sure how tricky it will prove to be, or when he might find the finish but Canelo Alvarez is certain of one thing. He will be victorious against Caleb Plant tonight at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas.
“I’m going to win. I don’t know if I win by knockout in the seventh or ninth but we’ll see,” Alvarez said. “That’s what I feel, [a ninth round knockout win,] I hope so… Everybody enjoys the knockout, of course.”
In fact he’s not even sure whether Plant is going to be a tougher proposition than Callum Smith or Billy Joe Saunders, two top level opponents Alvarez has handled comprehensively over the last 12 months. “I see him like Billy Joe but orthodox,” Canelo said. “You never know. I can’t say right now because sometimes you think it’s going to be easy or it’s going to be hard and on the day of the fight it’s different from what you think so we’ll see.”
“I respect his story,” he added. “I respect all of that.”
He has less time for retired super-middleweight great Andre Ward tipping Caleb Plant to win. “We’ll see. You can say anything. You can say a lot of words and feel something but it’s different when you’re there,” Canelo said.
Win or (more unlikely) lose or draw, Alvarez will continue to be a determined, driven fighter. “I love boxing. I love what I do. That’s my motivation,” he says. Nor has he ruled out sterner challenges in future, like stepping back up to light-heavyweight and taking on the formidable Artur Beterbiev. “It’s not crazy, I love the idea. I love a challenge,” he said.
He’s also considering boxing in the UK at some point, as Eddie Hearn has suggested. “We don’t know if it’s going to be in 2022 but I would love to fight in the UK,” he noted. “We 100% focus on this fight and then we will see.”