SPORTS SHORTS 257: CANELO ALVAREZ SCORES 11TH ROUND KO OF CALEB PLANT TO WIN UNDISPUTED SUPERMIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 07 Nov 2021
Saul "Canelo" Álvarez knocks out Caleb Plant in the 11th round to win the undisputed supermiddleweight championship before a mostly pro-Canelo sellout crowd of 16,586 on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Álvarez sends Plant to the canvas with a thundering left hook early in the 11th round. Plant got up to beat the count but Canelo came forward and with a barrage of blows quickly floored his opponent for a second time. Referee Russell Mora waved it off at 0:45 of the 11th making Canelo the undisputed champion.
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Alvarez entered the bout as boxing's current top PPV star and pound-for-pound king. He leaves the ring as undisputed super middleweight champion, the first time he's ever collected all the four belts in one weight class.
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The 31-year-old Alvarez (57-1-2, 39 KOs), of Guadalajara, Mexico, is a four-division world champion. He won the WBA and WBC titles in December with unanimous decision triumph over the then undefeated Callum Smith. He annexed the WBO belt with an 8th round TKO victory against Billy Joe Saunders in May in Arlington, Texas.
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The 29-year-old Plant (21-1, 12 KOs), of Nashville, Tennessee, defeated Jose Uzcategui of Venezuela in 2019 to win the IBF title, and had defended the belt three times, against Mike Lee (TKO 3), Vincent Feigenbutz (TKO 10) and Caleb Truax (UD) before losing to Alvarez.
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In round 1, Canelo didn't throw a punch in the first 90 seconds as he tested Plant's force and tempo. He connected some strong body shots in the second half of the round.
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Plant used his left hand, connecting some uppercut in the second stanza. Canelo landed a three-punch combination. In the third, Plant connected his jabs effectively. He followed up with lefts to the body.
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In the fourth, Canelo pummeled Plant with left hooks to the body and to the head. Alvarez now is more active after a slow start. He landed a solid left hook to Plant's face in the fifth.
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In round 6, Alvarez is getting better as he battered Plant with a flurry of right hands to the body and with a barrage of big left hooks to the head. Plant failed to unleash any power shot.
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In the 7th, Alvarez is raining shots as Caleb retaliated with only a counter right hand, but his punches were limited. Canelo continued to apply force and landed body shots in the 8th round.
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In round 9, Plant connected a solid combination but Alvarez trapped Plant in the corner as Caleb received several arduous punches. Canelo continued the beating of Caleb in the next round.
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In round 11, Alvarez inflected two knockdowns of Plant and the referee stops it after the second one since Plant was still groggy from the first fall. Canelo Alvarez is now the winner by TKO and becomes the first undisputed super middleweight champion of the world.
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The Mexican superstar generally recognized as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world by The Ring, ESPN, BWAA and TBRB. He became the sixth man to be recognized as a four-belt undisputed champion.
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Currently, Canelo and junior welterweight Josh Taylor are the only undisputed champions of their respective weight class. Others are retired middleweights Bernard Hopkins and Jermain Taylor, junior welterweights Terence Crawford and cruiserweight Oleksandr Usyk
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Plant is a muscular warrior and an exhilarating fighter who survived numerous personal misfortunes in life to win the IBF welterweight title and earn a shot at the world's number one pound-for-pound fighter, but the Tennessee born champion experienced just how skillful and powerful Canelo is.
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Per Wikipedia, Plant's daughter, Alia Plant, suffered an unknown medical condition that caused seizures. Alia died in January 2015, at the age of just 19 months after she was infected of a respiratory infection which developed to pneumonia.
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In March 2019, his mother, Beth Plant, was shot by police after pulling a knife on an officer. She later died in a hospital.
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Álvarez is the first Mexican fighter to reign undisputed champion in a boxing weight division. Canelo, a native of Guadalajara, spoke frequently before the fight of his goal to achieve the amazing feat both for himself and for his country Mexico.
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Compubox punch stats:
Total Punches Landed: Canelo 117 of 361 (32.4%), Plant 101 of 441 (22.9%)
Power Punches: Canelo 102 of 251 (40.6%), Plant 59 of 209 (28.2%)
Jabs: Canelo 15 of 110 (13.6%), Plant 42 of 232 (18.1%)
Body Punches Landed: Canelo 53, Plant 13
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Here’s how the three judges scored the fight at the time of stoppage:
Patricia Morse Jarman of Las Vegas: 96-94 Canelo
Dave Moretti of Las Vegas: 97-93 Canelo
Steve Weisfeld of New Jersey: 98-92 Canelo
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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