Canelo Alvarez became the first undisputed super-middleweight champion in boxing history after knocking out Caleb Plant in the 11th round on Sunday 7th (E.A.T)in Las Vegas.
Alvarez, the top pound-for-pound boxer in the world, had his opponent against the ropes and landed a hard left hook to Plant’s face. He then followed with a right uppercut that dropped Plant for the first time in his career.
Alvarez promised to punish Caleb Plant, and on Saturday he did just that with an 11th-round knockout victory at a sold-out MGM Grand Garden Arena to unify all four 168-pound titles.
A left hook followed by a brutal right uppercut sent both of Plant's gloves to the canvas in the penultimate round. He never recovered. On unsteady legs, Plant (21-1, 12 KOs) attempted to escape danger, but Alvarez sensed the moment. He closed in with a barrage of shots that dropped Plant a second time as referee Russell Mora halted the bout at 1:05 of Round 11.
"It means so much to me, for the history of Mexico, to be an undisputed champion," said Alvarez, who earned a guaranteed $40 million. "My respect to Caleb Plant. He's a very difficult fighter with a lot of ability. I do respect the fighter. We're men at the end. He wanted to continue. I said, 'There's no shame. We had a great fight today." Plant, who earned a career-best $10 million, was transported to University Medical Center for observation. He was behind on all three scorecards at the time of the stoppage: 96-94, 98-92 and 97-93.
The entire left side of Plant's body was red early in the fight as Alvarez continued to dish out blows to the midsection. Plant utilized a strong jab and deft footwork to keep Alvarez at bay and make him miss, but he rarely made Alvarez pay. Plant, a 29-year-old native of Nashville, is regarded for his defensive ability, not his power, and it showed. The punches never gained Alvarez's respect, who swarmed, round after round, even as his elusive opponent glided around the ring.
"He was making things a little difficult, but (trainer Eddy Reynoso) told me, 'Let's keep with the game plan in the last two rounds here,'" Alvarez said. "And in the end, I got him. That's the way it had to finish. He was already hurt, and I went in for the kill."
For Canelo, a third meeting with Golovkin, though, is the biggest fight of all. They clashed twice for the middleweight championship after Alvarez unified titles at 154 pounds. He also won a title at 175 pounds, where he could seek a bout with Artur Beterbiev.
When a crown was placed on the head of Álvarez it was acknowledgement of a small slice of modern boxing history. Across the weight divisions, only five other male fighters have held all four belts at the same time and been recognized as the undisputed champion of the world. Álvarez had been emphatic all week in Vegas that, despite the frequent absurdities of the titles peddled by the competing sanctioning bodies, he had this vision of history in mind.
It's less clear where Plant is headed after his first career loss. He won the title with an upset decision victory over Jose Uzcategui in January 2019 and defended it three times against light opposition. The fight with Alvarez was a quantum leap in competition. He fared well early, but in the end, Alvarez was too much. It's a familiar story since Alvarez lost to Floyd Mayweather in 2013, and at this point, there doesn't appear to be anyone on the horizon who can dethrone him.