Canelo basks in historic victory, but now time for rest after 4 fights in 11 months

Alvarez plans May return but unsure who or what he wants next

LAS VEGAS — After four fights in 11 months en route to making boxing history, pardon Canelo Alvarez if he is going to take a little break.

The pound-for-pound king knocked out Caleb Plant in the 11th round on Saturday night before a wildly passionate pro-Alvarez crowd of 16,586 at the sold-out MGM Grand Garden Arena to become the first-ever undisputed super middleweight world champion, taking Plant’s IBF 168-pound belt to add to his WBC, WBO and WBA titles, not to mention his Ring magazine championship.

Alvarez led 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94 going into the 11th round, when he floored Plant twice before referee Russell Mora waved it off after the second brutal knockdown at 1 minute, 5 seconds.

It was the conclusion of Alvarez’s stated goal to become undisputed champion that began in December when he easily dominated Callum Smith in a one-sided decision to take his Ring and WBA titles as well as the vacant WBC title.

Next up, Alvarez bludgeoned overmatched WBC mandatory challenger Avni Yildirim in a third-round knockout in February.

That was followed by a May victory over Billy Joe Saunders. Alvarez broke his orbit bone and forced him to retire on his stool after the eighth round to take his WBO belt.

And on Saturday, Alvarez was spent a few rounds figuring Plant out and then bashed him repeatedly with left hooks before dropping him in the 11th round and then knocking him out moments later to secure the historic victory.

He became just the sixth male fighter to fully unify a division in the four-belt era, joining middleweight Bernard Hopkins (2004), middleweight Jermain Taylor (2005), junior welterweight Terence Crawford (2017), cruiserweight Oleksandr Usyk (2018) and junior welterweight Josh Taylor (2021).

Now, it’s time for a little rest and relaxation. Rather than take a fight in the first quarter of 2022, Alvarez said he would be back in May to fight on Cinco de Mayo weekend.

“In May, because my body needs to rest. I need to rest,” Alvarez said at his post-fight news conference, where he dedicated the victory to trainer and manager Eddy Reynoso on his 45th birthday. “I need to recover, so it’s going to be May when I come back.”

Alvarez, who came to his news conference wearing a custom jacket emblazoned with the words “Undisputed Super Middleweight Champion 2021” on the back and images of two of the sanctioning body belts around each arm, said he will wait until early next year before seriously beginning to think about who he wants to fight next and whether it would be a super middleweight title defense or a return to light heavyweight, where he fought once in 2019 and knocked out Sergey Kovalev in the 11th round to win the WBO title.

“We’re always looking for the best fights,” Alvarez said. “Defending the title is always important but right now we’re focused on enjoying this fight, trying to enjoy the moment and then when the time comes we’re going to think about the future.”

He said he would call together his team to sit down and discuss the next fight in January.

“I have nothing in particular in mind right now but I love challenges and whatever comes my way I’ll be ready for it,” Alvarez said. “I’m ready for any challenge, any time, but we’ll see what comes next year. I really don’t have a time set for sitting down with my team and thinking about it. Right now I’m just enjoying the moment.”

There is a good chance that his next fight will be another one with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions. They worked together for the first time on the fight with Plant, which was done in conjunction with Showtime PPV.

Alvarez is once against a promotional and broadcast free agent, but PBC has notable opponents to offer Alvarez, including unbeaten former two-time WBC super middleweight titlist David Benavidez (who headlines a Showtime card on Saturday) and middleweight titlist Jermall Charlo, who would move up to super middleweight for a shot at boxing’s biggest star.

‘I have nothing in particular in mind right now but I love challenges and whatever comes my way I’ll be ready for it.’ — Canelo

Alvarez (57-1-2, 39 KOs), 31, of Mexico, who has won world titles in four divisions from junior middleweight to light heavyweight, said he enjoyed the experience of working with PBC and Showtime, with whom he had not worked since a five-fight stretch from 2012 to 2014.

“Showtime, PBC, Al Haymon, everybody treated me so well,” Alvarez said. “I felt really comfortable and all I can say is that overall, end to end, (it was) excellent.”

As for the fight, Alvarez all along said it would be complicated for the first few rounds as he figured out the taller, longer Plant’s style, and that came to fruition. What also came to fruition was Alvarez’s prediction that he would eventually take over, break Plant down and knock him out.

“The fight was exactly as I had envisioned. First few rounds, they were tough,” Alvarez said. “But then it ended up turning out just as we envisioned it. We were able to execute our game plan and we were really happy with how it turned out.

“I was a little frustrated, especially in the first five rounds, but the second part of the fight it was how we envisioned it. In the end, we came out with the win. That’s all that matters really. So, even though the frustration was there the first five rounds, the second part was ideal.”

Plant (21-1, 12 KOs), 29, an Ashland City, Tennessee native fighting out of Las Vegas, was taken to University Medical Center as a precaution but was soon released. He did not do a post-fight interview with Showtime or attend the post-fight news conference, but on Sunday posted a message to his Twitter account.

“I’ve bent most the world to my will and done it with nothing but passion and skill. I’ll be back,” Plant said. “I showed I belong on the top level and I’ll be champion of the world again. I’ve never been scared to go big or go out on my shield. Thank you to all the fans and all my supporters.”

Alvarez and Plant shared a few moments in the ring after the fight in which Alvarez said they buried the hatchet over all their trash talk and the ill feelings that boiled over during the lead up to the fight.

“We don’t have to take anything away from Caleb plant. He is a great fighter, a great boxer,” Alvarez said. “He made a great effort. He told me after the fight he wanted to keep fighting and that he wanted to continue. I only wish the best for him.”

Photo: Esther Lin/Showtime

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