Canelo Alvarez is the consensus No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, has won titles in four different divisions and has been a unified champion in three of those four weight classes. But on Saturday he'll aim for something he has yet to accomplish in his career thus far: Becoming an undisputed champion.
Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KOs), 31, of Guadalajara, Mexico, faces IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Plant on Saturday, looking to become the first undisputed champion in the division in the four-belt era (Showtime PPV, 9 p.m. ET). Alvarez defeated Callum Smith in December 2020 to win Smith's WBA super middleweight belt and the vacant WBC title. He then added the WBO title with an eighth-round TKO win over Billy Joe Saunders in May.
Plant (21-0, 12 KOs), 29, of Nashville, Tennessee, won his title with a decision victory over Jose Uzcategui in January 2019 and has since made three successful defenses. Alvarez has been looking for this kind of challenge throughout his career.
"The goal is to be an all-time great. I'm so proud of the journey I've taken to achieve that. I'm not going to stop until I've tried my best to reach that goal," Alvarez said at a news conference on Wednesday. "I'm excited to become undisputed champion and to make history. That's what I want.
"Only five male fighters in the history of boxing have accomplished becoming undisputed champion. I want to be the sixth. That's the only thing on my mind."
Although he's a champion and undefeated, Plant is a heavy underdog. That, however, hasn't affected his mindset ahead of the bout.
"People are going to say what they're going to say. But I get the final say and I can't wait to prove everything in the ring," Plant said. "If I listened to the doubters, I wouldn't even be here.
"I've been the underdog before. It's a place I like to be. I like people rooting against me. It gives me extra motivation, but when you're fighting for undisputed status, you don't need much more motivation than that."
Can Alvarez add another chapter to his legendary career, or is Plant ready for a big upset?
We asked former opponents of Alvarez and Plant, plus boxing insiders, for their take on the fight and their predictions.
Editor's note: Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.
Bernard Hopkins, former two-division champion and member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame
How Alvarez wins: Be Canelo. Go in there, force his will, use his power and work the body and force Plant to bring his hands down. I'm not counting Plant out 100 percent, but I'm counting him out 90 percent. Canelo is too strong, has definitely too much to lose and Plant doesn't have what I think he should have to give Canelo trouble: an all-around educational boxing approach -- like doing it all. If you allow Canelo to get adjusted as rounds go on, Canelo, after the first two rounds, will make the adjustments. That's a lesson he learned from the fight against Floyd Mayweather. I said it then and I say it again now, that was the biggest lesson that Canelo got that made him 10 times better than he was. He's now able to adjust.
How Plant wins: Close his eyes and swing. Every time he swings, he has to connect, but he must not look at the swing. It's going to be survival mode for Plant until the mercy call comes in. It's not about what Plant has to do to beat Canelo, and I'm dead serious. It's about what Canelo doesn't do that can give Plant a chance to beat Canelo.
X factor: The animosity. Plant said something about Canelo's mom. You may get away with saying something about daddy, but when he talked about Canelo's mom -- and I don't think it's promotional -- I think Canelo really wants to send a message to this guy; I really think he wants to hurt him.
Prediction: Canelo by seventh-round KO. And not a submission KO, I'm talking about a brutal KO, a KO of the year candidate, like you get KO'd before you hit the canvas. Plant is too brave for his own good in this situation.
Austin Trout, former junior middleweight titlist, lost to Alvarez by decision in 2013
How Alvarez wins: To start, let me say this. Each fighter has to do what they do best. Alvarez needs to pressure Plant, stalk him, attack the body, land his good jab, things that he already does well. I think Canelo is going to come out with a win in a closer fight than everybody is expecting. He does a lot of things well, cutting off the ring, counter behind his jab, his head movement coming inside, things that will work in this fight against Plant. Canelo's body punches will slow down Plant, and if Caleb doesn't have his legs, it's going to be a short night for him. That's going to be the difference. If Canelo, and I think he will be able to, lands his body punches, he will win easily. But I don't think he's going to do it early enough to force a stoppage.
How Plant wins: Plant has to do what he does best: Stay mobile, punch from angles, throw off balance, throw a lot of combination punches -- things like that. Most people say Plant has no power, or at least not enough to beat Canelo, but he has fought a lot of good fighters in the super middleweight division in matchups where he was not the power guy. Maybe he doesn't have the power to be in that division, but he is undefeated and he has made it look easy at times. He's beaten everybody pretty easily. Plant fights at his opponent's level, and he always rises to the occasion. He has great angles to keep Canelo offset. Canelo is relentless; he's got a good chin. Once he feels he can get through you he will get through you. But it was the same with Jose Uzcategui, and Plant still beat him pretty easily.
X factor: Caleb's footwork. He's done pretty well in the super middleweight division against good opponents with his footwork and movement, but If Canelo is able to neutralize Plant's footwork, he will win the fight.
Prediction: I think Canelo is going to win, but the fight is going to be much closer than people think. A decision win for Canelo.
Liam Smith, former junior middleweight champion, lost to Alvarez in 2016
How Alvarez wins: I think he wins along the lines of how he won against Billy Joe Saunders. He will start ... not slow, but he will take his time to get in rhythm. And once he does that, he will stop Plant in the middle rounds. Body punches, jabs, getting his timing right to break him down.
How Plant wins: Plant's a good boxer like Billy Joe, maybe better, but not a big puncher. He gets in a good rhythm, very fluid. He needs to offset Canelo, move his feet when Canelo wants to punch, try to establish his rhythm and hit Canelo when he wants to get in. He needs a very good engine to be able to do that.
Prediction: I see Plant winning the first two rounds and then Canelo picking up his pace, more like getting his timing and rhythm, and slowly but surely starts taking Plant down. Maybe Canelo stops him in the seventh or eighth round.
Aureliano Sosa, trainer to Jarrell "Big Baby" Miller, Peter Quillin and Chris Colbert
How Alvarez wins: You are talking about a guy that's going to be a Hall of Famer and one of boxing's greats. He's a four-division champion who's not afraid of taking on big challenges. A guy that has fought the best of the best and you can't take that away from him. Alvarez is going to take his time, figure Plant out. The hardest part of the fight is going to be the first three, four rounds. Plant is going to be all energy and give Canelo trouble with his speed, but then Canelo will analyze all that, process it and slowly start breaking down Plant. The body shots, and also going for the biceps, he hits you on those biceps and when the hands go down he goes to the head. I don't see Plant going 12 rounds.
How Plant wins: He's a great fighter, I've known him since the amateurs, good speed, decent power, but he really hasn't fought anybody that you can say "wow." I think the only top guy he's beaten is Jose Uzcategui for the title. The rest of his wins came against average guys or below average. And when you fight someone like Canelo, you definitely have to give the edge to Canelo. Plant has speed but he needs to be a little faster, a little slicker against Canelo if he wants to win. Do more feints, keep the distance and pray that Canelo doesn't catch him. Move, move, move and throw punches.
X factor: I saw some clips of Plant sparring against Zhanibek Alimkhanuly and Alimkhanuly was hitting him with some punches -- and he's not as slick or as fast as Canelo is. And if he's getting hit like that in sparring, and I know it's only sparring, Canelo is smarter, faster, way stronger than Alimkhanuly. When I saw that, I said no way Plant wins. I like Plant, he's my boy, but no way. Plant has to be on his A-game and I don't see that from Plant.
Prediction: I see Canelo stopping Plant in the eighth, ninth, 10th round. Victory by KO.
Joe Cortez, former boxing referee, member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame since 2011
How Alvarez wins: He has experience in his favor, much more experience than Plant. And of course he has the better mechanics, in defense and offense. That loss that he had against Floyd Mayweather made him a better fighter. It was a blessing in disguise. He wouldn't be where he is today if he didn't suffer that loss. That experience is going to be key against Plant as well, when it comes a time to make adjustments during the fight. Canelo has been working a lot of body punches during his career and he will use them against Plant. Canelo is going to be the smaller fighter of the two, in height and reach. When I fought bigger guys, I would weave my way in with body shots because when you kill the body the heads die. And that will be an advantage for Canelo, because he's a very good body puncher.
How Plant wins: He's a world champion at 168 pounds, but keeping a title is harder than winning a title. He has a good left hook and a good right hand. Now he's coming across an opponent like Canelo, who's very strong, with very good punching power, has a good chin and has all the experience. Plant has to try to outthink Canelo, but do it calmly, don't get too excited, because if he gets too excited, or spends a lot of energy in the first part of the fight, he won't have anything left toward the end. He has to pace himself accordingly, do everything possible to edge rounds and not to lose rounds at the beginning. He needs to keep a pace that allows him to be there in the later rounds. And if things didn't go well for him in the first part of the fight, maybe he still has the energy to make a run at the end. But that takes a lot of experience, a lot of training and discipline. The key for him is not to get hit with body shots, and if he is, he needs to adjust, say, "how can I avoid those shots," and go to Plan B.
X factor: Preparation. Conditioning. Canelo knows how to make adjustments and will be prepared for a Plan B if needed. If Canelo gets cut, or knocked down, he will have a Plan B. "Do I continue fighting this way or change?" Some trainers don't work on that, but I'm sure Canelo, with the experience that he has, and the trainer that he has, will be prepared for anything that can happen in that fight and adjust quickly.
Editor's note: There is no prediction from Cortez as he will be in charge of instant replay for the Nevada State Athletic Commission for the fight.
Vincent Feigenbutz, former super middleweight titlist, lost to Plant in 2020
How Alvarez wins: Canelo has to go into Caleb's space and push him and put him in position to hit him with body punches. That's what I was missing when I fought Plant. Canelo has it and he is an excellent boxer.
How Plant wins: Caleb Plant is a good boxer. I fought him and know him well. Caleb has to work on throwing punches constantly against Canelo, hitting permanently, and immediately moving away ... and repeat that for 12 rounds to score points.
Prediction: I see Canelo clearly winning. He will finish Plant in the later rounds.
ESPN's Mike Coppinger contributed to this report.