Preview: Nashville’s Caleb Plant Takes On Canelo Alvarez For Undisputed Super Middleweight Belt

Pictured (L-R): Caleb Plant with his father Richie Plant at the Canelo v Plant Main Event Press Conference. Photo: Ryan Hafey

Nashville native and IBF Super Middleweight Champion Caleb Plant will finally take on unified Super Middleweight Champion Canelo Alvarez for the undisputed title on Saturday, Nov. 6 in Las Vegas.

Plant, also referred to as “Sweethands,” is undefeated in his 21 matches fought, 12 of which were knockouts. He is currently ranked at No. 3 in ESPN’s super middleweight rankings. The 168-pound fighter is coming off a few big fights over the past three years.

In January of 2019, Plant defeated Jose Uzcategui on Jan. 13, 2019 at the Microsoft Center in Los Angeles to become the IBF Super Middleweight Champion of the World. The fight was telecast live on Fox Sports 1 and attracted a record peak audience of 986,000 viewers and averaged 761,000 viewers.

“Being undisputed will cement my name in the history books of boxing forever,” Plant shared at the main event press conference. “That’s why I do this. That’s what I set out to accomplish when I first started boxing.”

In January of 2021, Plant successfully defended his title for a third time with a unanimous decision victory over former champion Caleb “Golden” Truax in the main event of FOX PBC Fight Night from the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles.

However, Alvarez will be his best and most difficult opponent yet.

Canelo Alvarez. Photo: Ryan Hafey

Alvarez, 31 years of age, sports a record of 56-1-2. He has fought more than twice as many fights as Plant and is ranked No.1 in ESPN’s super middleweight and pound-for-pound rankings. Alvarez has become one of the most successful fighters in boxing history.

He is coming off a TKO win against Billy Joe Saunders in May of 2021. 73,126 fans attended, making it the most attended boxing match in the sport’s history. Throughout the fight, Alvarez landed over 50% of his power punches. After that fight, he expressed is wanting to be the undisputed champion, calling out Plant.

“I believe that there are a handful of things that I am better than Canelo at in the ring,” said Plant “But the only way to find out is to tune-in on Nov. 6. It’s not going to matter what I say right now, people aren’t going to believe me anyway. I’d rather show you than tell you.”

The heat was turned up after the two got into a scuffle at the weigh-in press conference in September. Choice words were said between both men when Plant slapped Alvarez, who responded with a light one-two punch that cut Plant’s face.

The odds are massively in Alvarez’s favor at -1250, meaning it will take a wager of $1250 to see a profit of $100. Plant is a significant underdog at +630 underdog, so a $100 wager would net $630, according to FanDuel.

Fans can watch the exclusively through Showtime PPV. The main card is set to start around 8 p.m. CT on Saturday night in Vegas.

Steven Boero