Caleb Plant hints he’ll be on his bike against Canelo Alvarez

Canelo Alvarez likely won’t find it easy to land his shots on IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Plant this Saturday night because he’s making it clear that he’s not going to be there for him to land his big shots.

The boxing fans who are expecting to see a war on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas might be disappointed. It’s from listening to Plant’s comments; he’s not going to let Canelo load up on his shots to cause damage like we’ve seen from him in his recent fights.

Plant hinted on Wednesday that he’s going to make this fight a cat & mouse affair, hitting and moving nonstop to foil Canelo’s high-pressure style of fighting.

WBA/WBO/WBC super middleweight champion Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KOs) is going to need to have quick feet for him to cut off the ring on the fleet of foot 28-year-old Plant because he’s not going to stand there like a dummy as we’ve seen with Canelo’s last three opponents.

Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) saw what happened to Canelo’s last opponent Billy Joe Saunders and he’s not going to let the Mexican star load up on his bone-crunching shots on him in the same way.

Plant won’t let Canelo hit him

“I think power is an issue in every fight,” said Caleb Plant to Fight Hub TV. “Everybody can punch at this weight; everybody hits hard at this weight regardless of what you hear and what they say. But the name of the game is hit and don’t get hit.

“As of now, according to stats, I’m the best in the division at doing that,” said Plant.

“There’s been a lot of great fighters in my position before. They step up and fight someone they’re an underdog against, and they get their hand raised, and they become the big dog. So having a fighter like Canelo across me will bring out the best Caleb Plant,”  said Plant.

Caleb accustomed to being walked down

“I want to win all my fights because if I don’t, I’m not sitting in this position,” said Plant. “Every fight is do-or-die for me. With everything on the line, I want this so bad I can’t even explain it.

“With everything on the line and everything at stake, I’m ready. Everyone has the same style when they fight me.  They want to walk me down and beat me up.

“We had some conversations, and I’ll keep that between me and him,” said Plant when asked about what Andre Ward told him about this fight with Canelo. “He’s been a mentor to me. I’m looking forward to chatting with him with all my belts after the fight,” Plant said.

When Canelo does pressure Plant, it won’t be a big deal for the Tennesse native because he’s dealt with those types of fighters his entire career. The 6’1″ Plant will have a colossal height advantage over the 5’8″ Canelo.

Most of the guy’s Plant has fought during his career have been in the 5’10” range or taller, and it’s going to be easier for him to deal with the shorter Canelo with his limited reach.

It’s typical for Plant to be walked down by his opponents, so the pressure that Canelo will put on him won’t be something he’s never seen before.

What could be a little tough for Plant is how Canelo stays calm and doesn’t fall apart in the early rounds when he’s getting the worst of it.

Many of Plant’s opponents tend to lose their sense of poise when he’s outclassing them in the early going, but that’s not likely to happen with Canelo.

Canelo’s experience concerns Plant

“Just his experience level,” said Plant when asked what’ll be a challenge for him going against Canelo.  “Experience is only one factor to winning a fight,” said Plant.

Canelo has A LOT more experience than Plant from his 15-year professional career, and that’s something that Caleb is a little concerned with.

He knows that he hasn’t fought the same type of opposition as the Mexican star, so that will put him under the eightball in some respects.

Canelo has the chance to fight and spar with highly skilled fighters with a somewhat similar style as Plant during his long career, which will give him an advantage on Saturday night.

That is to say, and it won’t be as much of a surprise to the 31-year-old Alvarez as it would be if this were the first time that he’d faced a highly-skilled fighter like Plant.

“There are many factors to winning a fight, and experience is just one of them,” said Plant. “There have been plenty of fights where the guy with less fights beats the guy with more fights,”  said Plant in making it clear that he can beat the more experienced Canelo.

Plant is correct in his remark about less experienced fighters beating more experienced guys quite frequently. It happens all the time in boxing, especially when the more experienced fighter has been around for a while.

The longer a fighter stays in the game, the more wear & tear they accrue, which puts them in the position where a young lion with less experience defeats them.

Also, a factor is that guys that make a lot of money in the sport tend to slack off between fights, stay out of the ring for extended periods and not train.

When they return, they’re often beatable and nowhere near the level they were at before. Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman and Mikey Garcia are prime examples of that.

“I  can’t explain what they’re thinking, but there’s a lot of big-time trainers out there and a lot of reporters saying I have a really good shot,” said Plant about the many boxing fans, fighters, and experts that are picking Canelo to win on Saturday.

“The majority is going to go for him, but a lot more people know him, so that’s to be expected. But there’s a lot of seasoned trainers and big-time boxing heads that know what I’m capable of,” said Plant.

It doesn’t matter how many people are picking Canelo to win the fight. If Plant can fight his game, not run out of gas and stay disciplined for the complete 12 rounds, he’s got a heck of a shot at defeating Canelo.