Canelo Alvarez is the consensus No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, has won titles in four different divisions and has been a unified champion in three of those four weight classes. But on Saturday he'll aim for something he has yet to accomplish in his career thus far: Becoming an undisputed champion.
Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KOs), 31, of Guadalajara, Mexico, faces IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Plant on Saturday, looking to become the first undisputed champion in the division in the four-belt era (Showtime PPV, 9 p.m. ET). Alvarez defeated Callum Smith in December 2020 to win Smith's WBA super middleweight belt and the vacant WBC title. He then added the WBO title with an eighth-round TKO win over Billy Joe Saunders in May.
Plant (21-0, 12 KOs), 29, of Nashville, Tennessee, won his title with a decision victory over Jose Uzcategui in January 2019 and has since made three successful defenses. Alvarez has been looking for this kind of challenge throughout his career.
"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," Alvarez said at a news conference on Wednesday. "I'm excited to become undisputed champion and to make history. That's what I want.
"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."
Although he's a champion and undefeated, Plant is a heavy underdog. That, however, hasn't affected his mindset ahead of the bout.
"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," Plant said. "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."
Can Alvarez add another chapter to his legendary career, or is Plant ready for a big upset?
We asked former opponents of Alvarez and Plant, plus boxing insiders, for their take on the fight and their predictions.
Editor's note: Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.