CARL FRAMPTON fears the cut Caleb Plant sustained after brawling with Canelo Alvarez may have impacted his training camp.
The unbeaten American faces Canelo in the first-ever undisputed super-middleweight title decider over the weekend.
But the fight threatened to start five weeks early when the pair clashed on stage at the press conference in Los Angeles.
Plant, 29, threw the first slap but saw it dodged by Canelo, who then returned fire with two in response that left Plant with a cut under his right eye.
And retired Northern Irish boxing legend Frampton reckons the potential dismay from the gash has flown under the radar.
He said: “I do think the cut may have affected him and is something that’s been overlooked a bit.
“I think it was probably about five weeks ago, something like that when it happened. And it wasn’t the worst cut in the world.
“But it was definitely a cut that kind of affects sparring preparation and I imagine about five weeks ago Plant was right in the middle of his tough sparring.
“So there may have been a week where he couldn’t spar to let the cut heal and whether he wore a full face guard or what, he may have had to put a full face guard on.
“Some people don’t like them, so I think the cut has definitely had a little bit of an affect on Plant’s preparation.”
Canelo boasts titles in four different divisions, from light-middleweight all the way to light-heavyweight.
He was been beaten only once, at the age of 23 against Floyd Mayweather, now 44, in 2017.
Only middleweight rival Gennady Golovkin, 39, has come close to giving Canelo a loss, with the Kazakh unlucky to get a draw in 2017 before losing the rematch a year on.
Mayweather’s style contrasts with GGG’s but gives Plant – the 21-0 IBF champion – two different blueprints to follow.
I do think the cut may have affected him and something that’s been overlooked a bit.
Carl Frampton
And his decision to bring in the great Andre Ward, who retired in 2016 at 32-0, and his trainer Virgil Hunter, gives a hint to what game plan will be followed.
Frampton, 34, said: “I think it’s a big kind of indicator for how he’s going to approach the fight that he’s employed Virgil Hunter and Andre Ward.
“I think it will be kind of a more sensible boxing approach rather than a gung ho, stand and trade with Canelo, I think that would be the wrong thing to do.
“At times in his fights, he does that, he has the fluidity and the nice movement but sometimes he stands and it gets a bit sloppy and has a fight.
“I think they’ll be drilling it into his head not to do that this time.
“But, I think if I’m his coach I’d tell him to try and move, don’t stay on the ropes, your jab has to be landing.
“But it’s easier said than done when you’re fighting Canelo.”
- BT Sport Box Office will show Canelo v Plant exclusively live in the UK on Saturday 6th November. For more info go to www.bt.com/sportboxoffice
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
