Plant: The First Couple Of Rounds, Middle Rounds And Later Rounds Are All Going To Be Tough For Canelo

Caleb Plant knows that anything short of a complete performance leaves him vulnerable in his upcoming quest for super middleweight supremacy.

The unbeaten IBF titlist expects the same from Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, which leaves him a little surprised over his opponent’s suggestion of only having to ride out the first few rounds to find his groove.

“The first couple of rounds are going to be tough, the middle rounds are going to be tough. The late rounds are going to be tough,” Plant insisted during his recent media workout ahead of his November 6 showdown with Alvarez for the undisputed super middleweight championship at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. “He’s got a tall order ahead of him.”

There isn’t any love lost between the sport’s two super middleweight title claimants ahead of their Showtime Pay-Per-View headliner. Still, Guadalajara’s Alvarez (56-1-2, 38KOs) has respected every opponent he’s faced, never underestimating what they bring to the table. The four-division and defending WBC/WBA/WBO super middleweight titlist and his head trainer, Eddy Reynoso both openly acknowledge Plant’s boxing skills and footwork, though not believing it will be much of a factor after three or so rounds when Alvarez is expected to take over the fight.

Plant (21-0, 12KOs) dominated the first eight rounds of his IBF title winning effort over Jose Uzcategui but faded in the final few rounds of their January 2019 title fight. No such challenges have since surfaced, with Plant blowing out Mike Lee early, Vincent Feigenbutz late and shutting out former titlist Caleb Truax this past January.

On the other side, Alvarez doesn’t believe he’s seen anything in Plant’s 21 pro fights that figures to pose much of a threat on November 6. Plant isn’t banking on being underestimated by the sport’s pound-for-pound king, but is fully prepared to shock him and the world in the historic super middleweight clash.

“There’s a lot of things I possess that’s going to give him issues in the fight,” vows Plant.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox