PLANT-BASED DIET
SATURDAY’S super-middleweight fight between Saúl ‘Canelo’ Álvarez and Caleb Plant is that rarest of things: a fight in which the two men involved have already exchanged blows despite this being their first scheduled and regulated bout.
It has worked out this way because in September, when goading each other at a press conference, Plant, after being pushed, attempted a left hook, only for Álvarez to counter with a combination, a flashpoint captured on various phones by the trigger-happy and click-hungry. The cost of this incident was a cut to Plant’s cheek, which led to concerns the real fight was in jeopardy, while the reward was some fresh spice added to a fight previously interesting but never much more than that.
What we have now, as a result of Álvarez and Plant starting early, is an uncompetitive fight, on paper, which at least boasts some backstory and needle and gives the impression of bragging rights being up for grabs. It may not be enough to have people believe Plant will do what only Floyd Mayweather has done to date – that is, beat Canelo Álvarez – but it does at least separate Plant from most who line up
