Yesterday, the fireworks flew in Los Angeles between Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant. During a heated faceoff, Canelo pushed Plant halfway across the stage, to the shock and awe of many.
https://twitter.com/notkingcyree_/status/1440475154308423692?s=20
“You can say whatever to me, but not to my mom,” said Alvarez after the scuffle. “I’m going to fight anyone who says something about my mom. And he swung first. I just pushed him. He swung first, and I do what I do. He crossed the line.
“It will be over in eight rounds or less. I’m going to knock out this guy. Easy.”
Today I learned that Canelo has never heard the phrase “motherfucker.” https://t.co/hzJUlGGJQr
— Ryan Van Tuyl (@ryanvantuyl) September 22, 2021
“You are not on my level, and you will see on November 6,” continued Canelo. “You don’t want to fight now, I promise you.
“We come from nothing and we worked hard to be here. For somebody to lie and talk trash about us, that upset Eddy. It is what it is though. We just have to show everyone who we are on November 6.”
Plant’s Reaction
Plant followed that up with a left hand slap that only connected slightly due to Canelo’s quick reflexes. However, Alvarez came back with a close-quarter left hook and overhand right, all with an open hand; and this is just a press conference.
Watching it in real time, didn’t think Caleb Plant caught Canelo Alvarez, but … pic.twitter.com/TNLnOnf628
— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) September 22, 2021
“We just had some normal back-and-forth banter up there, and then whatever happened happened,” said Plant. “It’s none of my concern, though.”
The respective teams of Alvarez and Plant rushed the stage to separate the combatants. The confrontation was the culmination of an escalating rivalry.
Alvarez is boxing’s consensus No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. The Mexican superstar is the unified WBA/WBC/WBO super middleweight world champion.
Caleb “Sweethands” Plant is the undefeated IBF super middleweight world champion. The two are making history with their matchup to crown the first-ever undisputed 168-pound world champion of the four-belt era.
“To be undisputed is history for Mexico and for everyone on my team,” said Alvarez. “To be the undisputed champion is just a great thing for my career.”
Scuffle Harder For The People In The Back
But the intense staredown that evolved into a scuffle did the best to sell the fight with a new boxing audience.
Diehard boxing fans have been salivating for this fight for an undisputed champion. Alvarez has been tearing up all comers, and his decisive win over Billy Joe Saunders last May set up this fight.
Canelo has officially mastered the Ultra Instinct.🔥 @Canelo pic.twitter.com/uBUU0OsgqV
— Lalø (@LaloAguirreJr) September 22, 2021
“Caleb might be on the same level as Billy Joe Saunders and Callum Smith, but he’s not on my level,” said Alvarez. “I respect that he isn’t here to back down. You can see from today that this is definitely going to be a good fight.
“I know what I need to do, and I know a lot about him. He’s a good fighter, but I know my skills. My experience is going to give me the edge in the fight. I have faced similar styles to Caleb’s against Floyd Mayweather, Erislandy Lara, Austin Trout, and Saunders.”
In a Premier Boxing Champions event, Canelo and Plant will battle live on Showtime PPV at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Trainers Weigh In
Eddy Reynoso, Canelo’s trainer, and manager, and Justin Gamber, Plant’s trainer, also joined their fighters on stage at Beverly Hills.
Counter slap aside, nothing but respect for Caleb Plant for verbally attacking Canelo and Eddie Reynoso. That camp should be suspended pending an investigation into doping. But, this is #boxing and he’s the golden goose! 🤷🏽♂️pic.twitter.com/CQi63ZSMuO
— Nick Peet (@Peety_Editor) September 22, 2021
“I’m a little upset by how things turned out today,” said Eddy Reynoso, Canelo Alvarez’s head trainer, “but in the end, we will settle things in the ring on November 6.
“The offensive language is what offended us the most. We are respectful people, and we move forward from this with our heads held up high. Now we are going to train well, win the fight and see what comes next after that.
“There are a lot of people who say things on social media but then they don’t show up. Some people want to take down a whole country and a great athlete that represents his country. They talk a lot of trash. You need to work hard though. You need to have guts to work as hard as we do.”
“He lost already.”
Canelo Alvarez takes aim at opponent Caleb Plant in a sitdown with me minutes after the press-conference altercation #CaneloPlant pic.twitter.com/3rEUMcNy3p
— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) September 22, 2021
Justin Gambler, the trainer for Caleb Plant, also expressed his opinions on the heated bout.
“In 1996, when I was 15 years old, my favorite fighter was the IBF super middleweight world champion Roy Jones Jr. Every fan back then craved an undisputed champion at 168 pounds, and now I train the IBF champion, and we’re going to be fighting for all of the marbles.
“Tune in on November 6 and you will see the first undisputed super middleweight champion of the world, and he’s from Tennessee. Anything that happened today at this press conference is going to drive us and give us more hunger.”
