Former two-weight world champion Billy Joe Saunders believes IBF 168lbs title holder Caleb Plant has the tools to cause WBO, WBC and WBA king Canelo Alvarez issues this weekend.
Saunders, who was handed his first career defeat by Alvarez back in May, says Plant must stay disciplined and maintain his distance if he hopes to be crowned undisputed champion.
“I don’t think he’s [Canelo] the invincible man,” Saunders said to TalkSport. “I think that Plant’s got a very good boxing brain – he needs to maintain his distance. Make sure you’re out of distance, don’t just think you’re out of distance because that’s the difference when you’re in with world level and elite.
“He’s got to make sure to be on his game all the way, I think he’s gonna give Canelo a good fight. Even with it being Canelo, sometimes you can feel very comfortable. I think that’s the time where you’ve got to realise you’re in there with an elite fighter.
“Canelo is an elite fighter, but Plant’s got the tools to cause him problems. He’s obviously got to keep it at long distance. Keep it very busy for the first six rounds and finish strong.
“Being orthodox, I was southpaw and that causes more problems, so he’s open to more counters obviously than what I would’ve been. You’ve got maintain your range at safe distance and box nice, and hopefully the judges score the true boxing scorecards.”