This weekend, Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez will face off with the unbeaten Caleb Plant in Las Vegas.
If he wins, Alvarez will become the first ever undisputed super middleweight champion. The Mexican's WBA, WBC and WBO titles are on the line, while Plant's IBF title is also up for grabs.
Alvarez comes into this fight having beaten Billy Joe Saunders in his most recent bout with an eighth round knockout, taking his overall record as a professional to 56 wins, two draws and one loss. No less than 38 of those wins have come by way of knockout.
That single defeat came against Floyd Mayweather in 2013 and Alvarez has since won multiple world titles in four weight classes, ranging from light middleweight to light heavyweight. The Mexican has won unified titles in three of those four weight classes.
In contrast with some other world champions, Alvarez has fought regularly throughout his career. This will be his fourth bout in a year.
Plant with flawless record
His opponent Plant has a perfect record of 21 wins and no losses, with 12 of those coming by way of knockout.
Plant won the IBF super middleweight title from Jose Uzcategui in January 2019 and has successfully defended it three times, most recently in January when he defeated Caleb Truax by unanimous decision.
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The American has been less busy than Alvarez, fighting just twice since July 2019.
Plant, as many who have come before, has tried to get under the skin of Alvarez in the fight build up. The two traded blows at a press conference in September.
Alvarez is 1/12 to win the fight, with Plant a 7/1 shot and the draw priced up at 22/1.
Alvarez improving prower
The Mexican showed against Saunders that he not only has retained the power he has but seems to be adding to it. The British boxer was treated in hospital after the upper cut that knocked him out also broke his orbital bone.
Plant will not have faced anyone of this calibre and is up against it in his hopes of retaining his unbeaten record. One area that Plant does have a significant advantage in is height and reach.
Sweethands is listed as six foot one, compared to his five foot nine opponent. His 74 inch reach is three inches superior to Alvarez's.
The Mexican will test Plant's chin in a way that he will not have experienced before and he will need to be able to take shots, as well as hurting Alvarez with his own.
In the end, Alvarez's power may be too much for the American, he is priced up at 8/15 to win the fight by way of knockout and that price seems fair.
For those looking to extract more value from the fight, round group betting may be of interest.
Alvarez has worn down his opponents in the latter rounds of two of his last three knockouts, against Saunders and Sergey Kovalev respectively. As a result, Alvarez to win the fight in rounds 7-9 at 3/1 and rounds 10-12 at 5/1 may be of interest.
