Canelo Alvarez vs Caleb Plant could still happen
Boxing is a sport where things move at a slow pace and, unfortunately it is not always at the same speed which fans desire. The boxing community was rocked after news dropped about contract disputes affecting the potential undisputed bout between unified champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (56-1-2, 3ko), and IBF champion Caleb “Sweethands” Plant (21-0, 12ko). The problem effectively ended negotiations for crowning the first-ever super middleweight undisputed champion.
Fans were not happy with the collapse of yet another undisputed fight. Immediately, the finger-pointing started as fans wanted someone to blame. Plant did not wait around for the attacks on his character to get out of hand and spoke to ESPN to give the full details of what happened.
It appears that one of Canelo’s demands was a bridge too far for Premier Boxing Champions. Team Canelo wanted the same guaranteed $40 million for the undisputed fight to fight a replacement fighter if Plant is injured or sick. Meanwhile Sweethands had a career-high payday of $10 million on the table, and several boxing fans felt he should have done whatever was necessary to make the fight. However, the IBF champion quickly reminds fans that money is not his sole driving force.
DAZN promoter Eddie Hearn tried to salvage the situation by throwing in the WBA ‘Super’ Light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol as a replacement fight. Well, as the boxing gods would have it, more discouraging news was delivered down the pipeline. Hearn took to social media to inform fans that the unified super middleweight champion will return in November.
THE PLANT FIGHT COULD STILL BE A GO
With all this bad news coming out of nowhere, it seems there is some good news after all. Eddie Hearn revealed a shocking piece of information while discussing the future for Canelo on the DAZN Boxing Show.
“We got to a point where it was six weeks to the date, and of course, we know that there was some negotiations with Caleb Plant that fell through. We started to look at Dmitry Bivol, and I was trying to nudge, and nudge. But Eddy Reynoso (Alvarez’s trainer) said: ‘Look, let’s wait. We are only going to box once this year. It is six weeks on Saturday. It is difficult with the promotion, it is difficult with the sparing. Let’s just delay that until October or early November.’”
Hearn would firmly express that Team Canelo is still very interested in fighting Plant, and Alvarez’s ultimate goal is to be undisputed.
“They do want to fight Caleb Plant. That is what they want at the end of the day. . .The ultimate goal for Canelo is to be undisputed at 168 pounds. So they will reignite that and see what Mr. Haymon says when they go back for seconds. I saw Caleb Plant had some words on social media this morning. So that sometimes makes it even more difficult. But, we will plan now for early November, and he will be back in the ring.”
By: Garrisson Bland
