Jermall Charlo says he’s ready to step up to the plate to face IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Plant if he’s unable to revive talks with Canelo Alvarez for September 18th. Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) says he’ll beat Plant (21-0, 12 KOs), beat Plant, and then take on Canelo.
Plant’s fight with Canelo is dead in the water after the two were unable to come to an agreement for an undisputed clash at 168 for September 18th on FOX PPV in Las Vegas, Nevada.
We don’t know yet if Plant’s management at PBC will be able to restart talks with the Mexican star, but if not, Jermall is the man that is ready to step in and take care of business at 168.
A fight between Jermall and Plant would be HUGE on FOX PPV, with the winner to face Canelo Alvarez for all the marbles in the super middleweight division.
There’s no bad blood between Canelo and Jermall, so those two can start with a clean slate, unlike the 28-year-old Plant, who may have permanently burned his bridges with Canelo.
“If Caleb Plant don’t get that Canelo fight, then I’m going to fight Caleb Plant,” said Jermall. “When I beat Caleb Plant, I’m going to fight Canelo.
Putting a fight together between Jermall and Plant would be VERY easy because both guys are with PBC.
The only thing that might stop that fight will be if either of these two doesn’t want to risk losing because they need to be unbeaten for them to have a shot at fight Canelo.
Jermall doesn’t need to beat Plant to get the fight with Canelo, so it doesn’t make much sense for him to take that needless step. If this were something that Charlo, 31, had to do for him to get the golden ticket to land the Canelo fight, it would make sense.
With that said, Jermall likely beats Plant without any problems whatsoever, as long as he can catch up to him.
Caleb Plant seems bitter
“Official on @Canelo @SweetHandsPlant talks: “Team Canelo has been conditioned to expect the sun and moon without giving anything in return. It’s very difficult to make a deal with someone who is used to doing business in a way that doesn’t make sense to the rest of the industry,” said @Pugboxing.
Not getting the Canelo fight seems to have negatively affected Plant, as he seems bitter about it. Plant was upset about Canelo wanting to get his $40 million payday still, even if he pulls out of the fight due to sickness or an injury.
Canelo asking for that in the negotiations rubbed Plant the wrong way, but that’s the price you got to pay when you’re dealing with a superstar. For Canelo, he would be in the same boat whether he’s fighting Plant or a last-minute replacement.
In other words, Plant brings little to the table in terms of fans and PPV buys. Pretty much all the buys that the Canelo-Plant fight would generate would come from Canelo’s fans, not Plant’s.
So if Plant is unable to make it through training camp without being sidelined by an illness or injury, whatever body hit is brought in for Canelo to fight wouldn’t negatively impact the numbers. The fans only want to see Canelo. Plant only has his IBF belt, and that’s it.
Charlo is easy $$$ for Plant