Canelo, Plant kick off fight week

Grand arrivals; Plant gets vaccinated; Dirrell hopes to shine in co-feature; Romero dropped from Davis fight over allegations; Quick hits; Show and tell

Fight week for Canelo Alvarez-Caleb Plant officially kicked off on Tuesday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with the fighter “grand arrivals.”

I am headed there on Wednesday to cover the event for RingTV, the Ring magazine website. The title unification fight between Ring champion and three-belt titleholder Alvarez and IBF titlist Plant will take place on Saturday (9 p.m. ET, Showtime PPV, $79.99) with the winner being crowned as the first-ever undisputed 168-pound world champion in either the three- or four-belt era.

“It means a lot to me to win this fight for my legacy,” Alvarez said at the grand arrivals. “That’s why we are here. He’s a good fighter with a lot of skills, but that’s nothing new for me. Saturday night, I’m going to make history.”

Plant sees winning the fight as the culmination of a lifetime of working toward such a big moment in boxing.

“I’ve dedicated my life to this sport,” Plant said after his arrival. “I’ve sacrificed a lot. We’re happy to be here, but we’re not just happy to be here. We are here to win those belts and become the first undisputed super middleweight champion of all time.”

Plant on getting vaccinated

Plant is days away from by far the biggest fight and payday of his life when he meets Alvarez in a title unification bout for the undisputed 168-pound world championship on Saturday.

It’s a fight Plant very much wanted. He can claim boxing immortality with a victory, not to mention a purse that has been widely reported at $10 million. Plant was not about to leave anything to chance when it came to the coronavirus pandemic, having seen other major fights postponed because of it.

That is why the 29-year-old Plant received his vaccination against Covid-19 during the summer despite his hesitation and belief he did not need it. I wrote about it as part of my Canelo-Plant coverage for The Ring website. Please read that story here: https://www.ringtv.com/629661-caleb-plant-wanted-to-knock-covid-19-out-of-the-way-on-his-path-towards-his-biggest-challenge-ever/

Dirrell eyes another title shot

Anthony Dirrell has twice won the WBC super middleweight world title and would like nothing more than to finish his career with a third belt for his collection.

He is the first to admit that his time remaining in boxing is limited, so if he is going to get another chance at glory, it needs to happen sooner than later. If it doesn’t he is resigned to retirement.

But Dirrell believes a good performance in the co-feature of Saturday’s Canelo-Plant fight will go a long way toward helping him obtain that opportunity.

Dirrell will face “Madman” Marcos Hernandez in a 10-rounder aiming for a performance eye-catching enough that the winner of the main event will look his way for their next defense. I spoke to Dirrell and wrote about his situation for The Ring magazine website, for which I will be covering the Canelo-Plant event for this week and will be headed to Las Vegas on Wednesday. Please read the Dirrell story here: https://www.ringtv.com/629635-anthony-dirrell-fights-on-the-canelo-plant-undercard-in-search-for-one-last-shot-at-greatness/

Romero bounced over allegations

A little over a week after Showtime announced a pay-per-view fight between secondary lightweight titlist Gervonta Davis and Rolando “Rolly” Romero for Dec. 5 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, Romero on Monday was dropped from the fight amid a sexual assault allegation police in Henderson, Nevada, are investigation. Organizers said Davis will still fight as they look to finalize a new opponent, which most likely will be Isaac Cruz. I wrote about the situation for World Boxing News. Please read that story here: https://www.worldboxingnews.net/2021/11/01/rolly-romero-dropped-gervonta-davis-ppv/amp

Raul Marquez’s son goes pro

Manager David McWater of Split-T Management announced he has signed 2021 National Golden Gloves champion Giovanni Marquez, 20, of Houston. Marquez is the son of former junior middleweight world titlist and Showtime broadcaster Raul Marquez.

Giovanni Marquez, who is trained by his father, was 75-12 as an amateur, culminating his unpaid career in August in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by winning the Golden Gloves title at 152 pounds and being named the tournament most outstanding boxer.

"I started following Giovanni years ago and I always knew with his work ethic he would continue to improve, but I never imagined that he would develop so much, so quickly, as to be possibly the best amateur fighter in the USA in 2021,” McWater said. “He was always relentless, well conditioned, and smart, and then he added power and greater balance. There are no ceilings for this young man, he can do anything he sets his mind to do.”

Marquez will begin his pro career at 145 pounds with the goal to get down to the 140-pound junior welterweight division.

“David has been a friend of my father's for a long time, and has been giving me great advice. After that advice, I won the city, state and National Golden Glove tournaments,” Marquez said. “I am happy to be with a great manager and have my dad as my trainer. The sky's the limit. Now I just have to stay focused and put in the work. I feel my style is a better fit for professional boxing. I am a boxer-puncher, and I can adapt to anything in the ring. I can take my time to show my skills and show every aspect of my game. I believe that I will make my debut late this year or early next year.”

Quick hits

Nothing is officially set yet for WBA light heavyweight titlist Dmitry Bivol (18-0, 11 KOs), 30, but manager Vadim Kornilov told Fight Freaks Unite he would have a homecoming fight in Russia in the first half of December. After that, “We will look at the possibility of fighting (a unification with Artur) Beterbiev or Canelo (Alvarez) as well as Gilberto Ramirez next,” Kornilov said,.

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WBC strawweight titlist Panya Pradabsri (37-1, 23 KOs), 30, of Thailand, successfully made his first defense, outpointing countryman Danai Ngiabphukhiaw (9-3, 5 KOs), 21, on Tuesday in Nakhon Sawan, Thailand. Pradabsri won 118-110, 117-111 and 117-111, overcoming some difficult moments in the seventh round.

Show and tell

You know I’ll be picking up some Canelo-Plant programs and site posters while I’m in Las Vegas this week. But I already have the Showtime pay-per-view poster in my collection.

Photos: Esther Lin/Showtime

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