Canelo Alvarez says Caleb ‘Sweethands’ Plant gave him an apology after their fight last Saturday night for him referring to him as a “mother f****’ during their Los Angeles press conference last September.
Canelo says he told Plant that it’s okay and “water under the bridge” now. He has no hard feelings.
The Mexican star Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) dealt Plant (21-1, 12 KOs) his first career loss in defeating him by an 11th round knockout to take his IBF super middleweight title at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The victory made Canelo the undisputed champion at 168, making him the first to accomplish this. That was more of a personal goal for Canelo, and not one that was appreciated by the fans as much.
They just wanted to see a good fight, and for the most part, that’s why they got until Plant gassed out after the fourth.
We knew Plant had stamina issues going into the contest, but it was believed that he would make it until the second half before he begin slowing down.
Unfortunately, Plant faded a little earlier, causing the fight to be one-sided with Canelo pounding him with body and headshots.
Canelo reveals Plant apologized
“We won’t have to take anything away from Caleb Plant. He’s a great fighter, a great boxer and he made a great effort tonight,” said Canelo.
“He apologized to me and told me what he said about my mom, he didn’t mean it. He truly was sorry about that. I said, ‘It’s okay, it’s water under the bridge.’ I told him he was a great man and I only wish the best for him,” said Canelo.
What’s unclear is if Canelo was genuinely upset about Plant’s “mother f****” insult or if this was a smokescreen to cover what really upset him, which some boxing fans believe is his “drug cheat” comments made during the LA press conference.
It looked to some boxing fans that Canelo was furious after Plant tore into him about the drug stuff.
Kenny Porter says Benavidez and Charlo can possibly beat Canelo
“I had Caleb winning the first four and a half rounds, and then he began to slow down,” said trainer Kenny Porter to Fighthype. “I knew he had to be strong in the second half of the fight and Canelo was stronger than him in the second half of the fight.
“Nah, I think this is the best,” said Porter when asked if Canelo will be better next year. “I think Caleb gave him a really good fight. He [Canelo] hit the power shots at the end of the deal. Before that, I thought Caleb gave him a lot of trouble.
“Charlo,” said Porter when asked who can give Canelo trouble. “Benavidez is a great fighter as well, but the first one that came to my mind is [Jermall] Charlo.
“I think Charlo can win. I mean, I think he could win the decision. He [Jermall] doesn’t have to stand toe-to-toe with him, but he can punch with him [Canelo] and he’s big enough and strong enough to pull it off. I believe in those kids. I think they can do it.
“Benavidez as well. He’s got a good shot at it as well,” said Porter in stating that he believes Benavidez and Charlo can possibly beat Canelo.
Boxing fans probably won’t get the chance to test Porter’s theory about David Benavidez possibly beating Canelo because he’s not expected to be selected for his next fight in May 2022.
Canelo said that he’s going to sit down with his trainer Eddy Reynoso next January to pick an opponent for his fight in May. It’s likely that Reynoso will choose Jermall Charlo for his next fight, and if not him, Gennadiy Golovkin.
