Negotiations for a September bout between boxing star Canelo Alvarez and super middleweight fighter Caleb Plant hit a standstill at the half-yard line Tuesday after differences in contract needs came to light. Plant had agreed to his end of the deal about two weeks ago, with no further issues concerning money or additional stipulations, and it was reported by ESPN that the stalemate was caused on Alvarez's end. The contract had been in the works for weeks and was passed back and forth between Alvarez's camp and Premier Boxing Champions over the weekend, and after numerous edit requests, the deal fell apart.
Plant spoke with ESPN about the situation and shared his perspective about Canelo's motives surrounding the fight:
"I question whether legacy or money is their real motive. We've been waiting for him to get done with his wedding, shooting his TV show, his golf tournament and now have tried to give him everything he wants and more to make this fight. I'm more than willing, able and ready to fight Canelo Alvarez on any date. Those are the real facts and if anyone has something to say differently, we have the paperwork to prove it."
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Alvarez is after the only super middleweight title that he doesn't currently have in his possession, which Plant has held as the IBF super middleweight champion since 2019. According to ESPN, he is ranked as the second best active super middleweight fighter. There is a possibility for talks to resume, but time is of the essence as Alvarez traditionally likes to fight on Mexican Independence Day weekend, which is on the original September 18th fight date.
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Another supposed option for Canelo Alvarez is to bulk up and return to 175 pounds to fight for a title with Dmitry Bivol, a professional boxer from Russia who has held the WBA light-heavyweight title since 2017. After Alvarez beat British boxer Billy Joe Saunders in May, he has been seeking a one-fight deal with a possible career-high payday. The stalled fight deal with Plant could have marked Alvarez's pay-per-view return, but it's now possible that he will return to streaming platform DAZN for his next fight, even after a legal battle with the platform has been settled.
Alvarez is still set to fight an opponent on September 18th, whether that be Plant or someone else. He had already started preparing to fight Plant at his San Diego gym, for what would be his fourth fight in nine months.
