Boxing

CALEB PLANT will challenge the greatest boxer on the planet in Canelo Alvarez – but he has already won far bigger fights in his life. The unbeaten super-middleweight is 21-0 and currently reigns as the IBF champion ahead of the unification bout over the weekend in Las Vegas.
Canelo Alvarez fights Caleb Plant in Las VegasCredit: Rex
Caleb Plant training to fight Canelo AlvarezCredit: Getty
But he remarkably achieved the feat after the tragic death of his baby daughter Alia before later losing his mother Beth, who was shot dead by police.
Nothing he faces in the ring could possibly come close to the heartbreak already suffered, but it has helped shape the American’s resolve.
In an exclusive interview, Plant, 29, told SunSport: “I feel like the situations you go through, they make you who you are and there’s clearly no quit in me.
“I could have quit a long time ago, and people would have said, ‘Well, it makes sense because of this, or because of that’.”
Plant started boxing at the age of eight in his hometown of Ashland City in Tennessee, which has a population of just over 4,500 people.
With no local boxing club in sight, parents were forced to tape together a makeshift ring, or huddle around to make a square.
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It may not have been the most traditional start for Plant, but quickly helped him find his passion for the sport.
He said: “When you really want something, regardless of what it is, you don’t always have to have the fanciest gear or the latest technology, or the greatest, latest stuff.
“Just like many great boxers before me, regardless of where they’re from, they’re not always starting out with the nicest stuff.
“You don’t need the latest stuff to get where you’re heading – all you need is focus and drive.”
Plant went on to have a successful amateur career, representing the USA squad, even acting as an alternate on the 2012 Olympic team.
But his humble beginnings are what inspired him to reach the boxing pinnacle – and make sure he stays there.
Caleb Plant as a boy growing up in Tennessee
Caleb Plant during his amateur days
Plant said: “Most great men start in that position, with very little and that’s what motivates them to get where they’re going.
“When there’s tough moments, having that to lean on, thinking back like, ‘I gotta make this work, this has to happen’.
“Because you think there’s no way I can go back to that, or live out the rest of my days in a situation like that or let my children grow up like that.
“Just like many other great men who have accomplished a lot in life, it’s a good motivation.”
Plant turned professional in May 2014, 12 months after he had welcomed baby daughter Alia into the world.
However, she was unfortunately born with an unknown medical condition which caused seizures.
Caleb Plant pictured with his baby daughter Alia
The boxer took his IBF belt to daughter Alia’s grave
Caleb Plant dedicated his world title win to baby Alia
Plant sat and cared for Alia every day, but after 19 months she passed away after catching a respiratory infection which developed into pneumonia.
The devastated boxer vowed to win a world title for his little girl, and in 2019 his promise was fulfilled after beating Jose Uzcategui on points.
Plant dedicated the win to Alia and later took his IBF belt to her grave.
But in another devastating incident, in March 2019, only two months after the greatest night in his boxing career, the fighter’s mother was shot dead.
Plant’s mum Beth was fatally wounded by police in Tennessee after they said she pulled a knife on an officer.
Caleb Plant pictured with his mother Beth
Caleb Plant’s mother was shot dead by police
The undefeated fighter continues to honour his daughter and mother, wearing their names on his short.
He has made three successful defences of his title, earning him the right to fight for Canelo’s WBC, WBA and WBO belts in a historic undisputed title decider.
And despite having the odds once more stacked against him, Plant explains he has come too far to fail now.
He said: “This boxing thing is a one-way trip for me. I burned all my ships when I started over here, there is no return, there is no going back.
“Boxing is a one-way trip for me and I am going to get where I want to get and accomplish what I want to accomplish.”
Caleb Plant wears his mum’s and daughter’s names on his shortsCredit: Getty
Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant square upCredit: Amanda Westcott
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CANELO ALVAREZ has one more step, opponent and fight in his way before becoming the undisputed super-middleweight king.IBF champion and 21-0 challenger Caleb Plant stands across the Las Vegas ring from him on Saturday night as the 7-1 underdog in a two-horse race.
Canelo has three super-middleweight titles and fights for the IBF on Saturday night
Canelo and Caleb Plant square off on Saturday night for the undisputed super-middleweight championshipCredit: Getty Images – Getty
The WBC, WBA and WBO mastermind has no so many skills in his arsenal and marquee names on his record that the bookies can barely see a way for the underdog to have his day.
The 31-year-old Mexican has won world titles at super-welter, middle and even up at light-heavy and only been beaten by the legend Floyd Mayweather, when he was a 23-year-old novice.
SunSport found it almost impossible to list five weaknesses Plant might be able to exploit on Saturday.
But an even harder task has been whittling down his strengths to just five.
PUNCH POWER
We could have been more specific and celebrated the Mexican-style body punching that Canelo used to savage brave Brits Liam Smith and Rocky Fielding.
But then we are at risk of forgetting the head shots that knocked Amir Khan clean out and forced Billy Joe Saunders into quitting.
The sheer brutality of the man even allowed him to batter Callum Smith’s arm so badly that his bicep detached from the bone and needed career-saving surgery!
When Alvarez plants his feet and picks his shot, no body part above the belt is safe.
It’s not always one-shot obliteration, from the old Deontay Wilder playbook, but it is brutal precision punching and crunching combinations that have cracked some of the toughest men in the sport.

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HEAD MOVEMENT
With a chin as good as Canelo’s you probably don’t even need to worry about protecting it that much.
A couple of the flush shots knockout artist Gennady Golovkin landed, across their brilliant 24 rounds would have floored a horse but the Guadalajara ace just marched through the abuse.
But Canelo’s head movement – which he constantly works on in Eddy Reynoso’s gym – has been earning memes of it own, thanks to its Matrix-like qualities.
In the fights against GGG, Miguel Cotto and especially Danny Jacobs has been nothing short of amazing.
Because the 56-1-2 ace loves to plant his feet and land power shots, he has to be an expert at defending in the pocket, in range, and he has proven himself a master of the old art.
Canelo Alvarez sits top of the pile in Sports Illustrated’s pound-for-pound top ten list
ENGINE
Canelo failed at least two drug tests in between his two brilliant bouts with Golovkin but was only hit with a six-month ban, it remains a black mark on his record that his biggest backers want you to forget.
At least clenbuterol, the asthma drug in his system that he blamed on contaminated Mexican meat, is a body-building favourite for helping to melt away fat and not a steroid favoured for helping to build fitness or strength.
In the 59 fights Canelo has gone the 12-round distance 14 times and, just before he was a household superstar, the 10-round distance on five occasions. And never has he looked like he is struggling down the final straight.
Even when he went up to light-heavyweight – piling on muscle to hit 12st 7lbs and blast out bonafide great Sergey Kovalev – his gas tank never seemed to struggle under the extra strain.
And that aerobic capacity not only means Canelo always makes the final bell, but that he remains a violent threat until the last second.
Kovalev, Billy Joe Saunders and Liam Smith were all stopped at various stages of the last four rounds of their bouts, proving nobody is safe until they hear the final bell.

EXPERIENCE
The flame-haired superstar is the youngest of seven brothers who all boxed professionally.
With minimal amateur experience, the pugilism prodigy turned pro at just 15 and learned his craft the old fashioned way.
In 2006 he enjoyed seven fights, the same again in 2007, upped the ante to eight in 2008.
Even in the modern day, when elite fighters can afford to fight two or three times a year and the pandemic has cancelled month’s worth of shows, Canelo has his fifth fight inside 12 months on Saturday.
The ace has struggled with southpaws, outpointed KO artists, overpowered fading legends, stunned opponents early and scored stoppages while behind on the cards.
Caleb Plant will have to do something sensational on Saturday as his opponent will have seen it all before.
ARROGANCE
There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance. But in boxing – perhaps more than any other sport – arrogance is thoroughly earned and can be a brilliant weapon.
How many of Saul Alvarez’s opponent’s have genuinely believed they can beat him?
How many of the victims on his record has he started at down the barrel and calmly told ‘you are not on my level’? How many of them has he convinced?
Everybody wants to fight Canelo because he is the biggest payday in the sport – he knows it too and sometimes takes pleasure in telling people that he is paying their wages.
The Mexican has already drawn blood in this rivalry, counter-slapping Plant with two perfect shots at their pre-fight press conference, causing the America’s designer sunglasses to cut him on the right cheek.
Plant has earned his shot and his cheque but he is going to need superhuman belief and resolve to overwhelm the will of Saul Alvarez.
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