Canelo and Plant bury the hatchet after a historic fight!
In the build-up to the showdown between undisputed WBA super, WBO, IBF and WBC super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (57-1-2, 39 KO’s) and Caleb “Sweethands” Plant (21-1, 12 KO’s), there was a tremendous amount of animosity. Despite Alvarez being the face of boxing and a mass media darling, Plant simply viewed him as a trespasser in his division. Not only did he feel these things, the former IBF super middleweight champion was only too happy to tell anyone who’d listened the same.
Plant also refused to bite his tongue when he repeatedly insinuated that Canelo was a drug cheat. As one would expect, the redhead Mexican did not like any of the Nashville native’s talking points. As a result, Alvarez was more vocal about wanting to put the hurt on Sweethands when they met in the ring. Trouble was, Canelo would wind up putting his hands on Plant well before fight night.
While conducting their obligations for a prefight media event, Alvarez shoved his upcoming foe after a loose ‘motherfucker’ comment rubbed him the wrong way. During the brief scuffle, Plant suffered a nasty gash under his right eye. With blood literally drawn, their animosity seemed destined to exist for quite some time.
PEACE AFTER PAIN
When the two did eventually meet in the squared-circle, Sweethands provided a much more competitive fight than many foresaw. Throughout large chunks of the action, Plant bedeviled Canelo with his fancy footwork, tight defense and sharp punching. Even with his impressive showing, Caleb Plant was not able to close the show.
In the eleventh round, the redhead was able to hurt and drop Sweethands twice. On his second trip to the canvas however, the former world champion was unable to beat the count. With the spoils of victory Alvarez became the first undisputed super middleweight champion in history. Yet, while Plant may have lost his belt, he earned the respect of the newly crowned champion in the process. Likewise, Canelo had a newfound appreciation of Sweethands as he explained in the post-fight conference.
“He told me after the fight that he wanted to keep fighting, that he wanted to continue and he also apologized to me and told me that what he said about my mother, he didn’t mean it and that he was truly sorry about that. And I told him, ‘look, its water under the bridge.’ I thought he was a great man and I told him also that I hope one day he has a great family as well. I only wish the best for him.”
By: Bakari Simpson
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