IBF super-middleweight king Caleb Plant is halfway through training camp and can’t wait to prove the naysayers wrong when he clashes with WBC, WBA Super and WBO belt holder Canelo Alvarez at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on November 6.
Plant has been widely written off in the undisputed 168lbs title fight, reflected in his 13/2 underdog status with Betfred, despite a spotless professional record. Detractors feel the Nashville stylist isn’t ready or capable of toppling pound-for-pound No.1 Canelo, but Plant firmly believes he is closing in on an historic victory and his fists will do the talking.
The two scuffled at the press launch last month, with Plant missing with a left hook and ending the altercation with a minor cut under his right eye, but now he is deep in preparation with a focus on changing his life and career in just over three weeks’ time.
“I’m just staying relaxed and letting the process play itself out. We’ve got one half of camp done and a half camp to go. I’m ahead of schedule and my weight is good. I don’t think I need to be any more motivated than I already am to fight for the undisputed super-middleweight championship of the world. It’s a fight that we both obviously want to win. Maybe Canelo’s emotions boiled over at the press conference and I reacted. Those things happen,” said Plant (21-0, 12 KOs).
“I’m just staying zeroed in, locked in and focused. We’re just planning to finish out this camp the same way that I started it, and that’s at a high level. I’m feeling really good. Everything has been on point. I feel like I have all the skills in the world and a great team around me. When the bell rings, I’m just looking forward to showing the world what I can do.
“I believe that there are a handful of things that I am better than Canelo at in the ring. But the only way to find out is to tune-in on November 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.
“I’ve only had 21 fights as a professional, but a lot of those fights have been on the big stage. I’ve been fighting at a high-level for a long time and I’ve got a lot of experience under my belt. It’s all going to help me on fight night.
“I know that this is the biggest fight I’ve had so far in my career, and that’s the goal, to keep moving forward. I want each fight to be bigger than the last fight. This isn’t anything that I haven’t asked for. I want this and I feel like I’m prepared for it.
“Being undisputed will cement my name in the history books of boxing forever. That’s why I do this. That’s what I set out to accomplish when I first started boxing.”
Main image: Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions.