His first simultaneous defense of all four belts is scheduled for February in Glasgow against Jack Catterall. Taylor achieved the feat in May by beating Jose Ramirez. Only five men had ever achieved four-belt undisputed champion status since the feat became possible with the WBO’s advent: middleweights Bernard Hopkins and Jermain Taylor, junior welterweights Terence Crawford and Taylor, and cruiserweight Oleksandr Usyk. But Álvarez used his star power to join an elite club by winning all four major belts. Álvarez gradually landed more effectively in the middle rounds, moving Plant backward and even daring the cautious Plant to hit him in the seventh.īoxing gets frequent, deserved criticism as an institution for the promoter rivalries and fractious sanctioning bodies that prevent the best fighters from meeting each other far too often.
Álvarez showed little fear of Plant’s punches, and he got even less heedful as the bout progressed. Álvarez steadily walked down Plant and did damage in the fourth, backing him against the ropes and letting combinations fly. Plant opened the biggest bout of his career with a solid game plan, tapping Álvarez with a solid jab and moving away from his opponent’s superior power, frequently using a shoulder roll to avoid trouble.
Álvarez and Plant briefly scrapped, leaving Plant with a cut on his face and a new avenue of motivation. Álvarez and Plant had no personal animus until September, when Álvarez took offense to an insult from Plant during a news conference in Beverly Hills to promote the bout. Canelo Álvarez stops Caleb Plant to become undisputed 168-pound boxing champ – Orange County Register
0 kommentar(er)
