Mexican superstar and unified WBA/WBC/WBO Super Middleweight World Champion Canelo Álvarez and undefeated IBF Super Middleweight World Champion Caleb “Sweethands” Plant previewed their historic showdown at the final press conference Wednesday before they meet in the SHOWTIME PPV main event this Saturday, November 6 in a Premier Boxing Champions event from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Canelo and Plant shared the stage for the first time Wednesday since their heated announcement press conference in September, where the two fighters exchanged shoves and glancing blows in Los Angeles. The winner of Saturday’s highly-anticipated showdown will make history as the first undisputed super middleweight champion during the four-belt era.
Here is what Alvarez and Plant had to say Wednesday:
CANELO ÁLVAREZ
“I want to thank everyone for their support and for making this fight possible. We have come a long way in our career to make this happen. Now we’re just days away from making history.
“It’s so different when you’re in the ring, so I don’t really take anything from our altercation at the first press conference.
“I’ve faced many good fighters with skills that are similar to Caleb. It’s a style that I’ve seen before and I know what to do with it. That just gives me confidence in my experience heading into this fight.
“I always train 100% my hardest and for the style of my opponent. I like that idea that Caleb is coming in believing he will win this fight. It’s going to make it more exciting for the fans.
“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.
“Only one thing is going through my mind, and that’s winning. Everything else is outside of my control. I only care about what’s going to happen inside of the ring Saturday night.
“The fact that I can make history this weekend along with Formula One driver Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez, is very motivating for me. My goal is to make this an unbelievable weekend for Mexico.
“My emotions are under control. I’m excited for the fight of course. I’m excited to become undisputed champion and to make history. That’s what I want. But I can remain calm, because this is what I do.
“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.
“You’re going to want to tune-in to this fight. This fight is going to be history. You’re going to be witnessing something that you’re going to remember for a long time.”
CALEB PLANT
“There’s not much time left and not much left to say. Leading up to this fight, Canelo said that the Mexicans don’t f*ck around. That’s good to know, because where I’m from, we don’t f*ck around either.
“Make sure you tune-in Saturday night. You’re going to see the first undisputed super middleweight champion ever in this sport. This is history and you’re looking at him. His name is Caleb Plant.
“It wasn’t my intention to get under Canelo’s skin at the first press conference. I think the media makes more of it than we do. We’ve both been in worse scuffles than that. When the bell rings, it’s completely different.
“I’m someone who likes to focus on what’s in front of me. Until recently, Canelo wasn’t in my weight division, so I didn’t think much about fighting him. Once he came in the division, I knew that it would be a huge mega fight and here we are.
“I have to get the job done by any means necessary. That’s what me and my team have done so far to get to this point. Whether it’s boxing or in life, I’ve gotten here by any means necessary. I had opportunities to bow out, and I haven’t. I just can’t wait for the bell to ring Saturday.
“The way I see this fight turning out is, Jimmy Lennon Jr. saying ‘the new undisputed and still undefeated’. Canelo’s had multiple close fights, but I believe the right people are in place to make the right decision Saturday night. All I can focus on is the game plan and the job that needs to be done.
“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. I can’t focus on what other people say about me. 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.
“Make sure you tune-in. This isn’t just the biggest fight of the year, but you’re tuning in to witness history when I get crowned the undisputed super middleweight champion.”
Photo: Amanda Westscott/SHOWTIME
