Caleb Plant revealed that Andre Ward told him to stay locked in and focused for his November 6th fight against Canelo Alvarez.
Plant had an interesting week in angering Canelo to the point where the Mexican star got physical in shoving him at their press conference in Los Angeles, California last Tuesday.
Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) notes that Ward already knows what he can do in this fight with Canelo (56-1-2, 38 KOs) because he’s already proven what he can do.
Now it’s all about IBF super middleweight champion Plant executing on the night when he faces WBA/WBC/WBO champion Canelo in the main event on Showtime PPV at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Don’t wear sunglasses at the press conference
Plant didn’t say anything about whether Ward has advice on what to do if Canelo continues to physically attack him in future press conferences.
One good idea would be for Plant to leave his sunglasses at home because he doesn’t need to suffer another cut if Canelo loses control again and starts swinging.
Protect yourself at all times
Another good idea would be for Plant NOT to keep his hands behind his back during face-offs with Canelo.
Plant now knows that Canelo is someone that initiates physical contact when he’s upset by trash-talking.
When standing across from someone like that, you CAN’T handicap yourself by putting your hands behind your back as Plant did with Canelo.
Plant: Ward Knows What I’m Capable Of
“He didn’t throw a punch. His arm was bleeding. Did you see his arm? He kept dabbing it,” said Caleb Plant to Fighthype about his altercation with Canelo last Tuesday.
“Because his arm hit my sunglasses and pushed it into my face and that’s what gave me the scratch. That’s really it.
“Just staying focused and locked in. I mean, he already knows I’m capable of doing that. He knows I’m good at that,” said Plant when asked what advice Andre Ward gave him for the Canelo fight.
“I’ve had a chance to slip and fall before. In the Jose Uzcategui fight, I had a chance of doing that going into the fight when my eye got cut from a headbutt.
“30 seconds later what happened? I stayed focused, I stayed locked in and I set him down for a second time. I’ve been back in Tennesse, fighting in front of my hometown, thousands of people showing up, pulling me this way, pulling me that way. I could have succumbed to that, but I stayed focused and got the job done in a spectacular fashion.
“I’ve been on the big stage before. I feel like sometimes people get too wrapped up in this media stuff. It’s really just answering questions about boxing and taking a few pictures. We went out there for a couple of days to train and that was it,” said Plant.
Part of staying focused for Plant is to be ready if Canelo jumps him in future press conferences. Now that Canelo has shown what he’s capable of doing when angered by trash-talking, Plant needs to approach the press conferences with the idea that Canelo could choose to make things physical again.
“Right now, I’m focused on November 6th. Nothing else matters. It was a normal face-off,” said Plant about his face-to-face with Canelo.
“He pushed me and then I got one in on him and he got one in on me. My glasses on my face gave me a little scratch.
“I didn’t say anything or go out of my way to say anything or make accusations [about Canelo]. Everything I said today wasn’t an accusation. If facts are facts, then facts are facts.
“I’m not sure but if it wasn’t true then there would be no reason to get mad about it, I guess,” said Plant about Canelo getting upset when he called him “drug cheat.”
“It seems like that’s a soft subject, a sensitive subject for him [Canelo]. I’m not sure.
“You’d have to ask him. I’m motivated, I’m focused and I’m locked in and I’m trying to get back to Vegas in training. On November 6th when the bell rings, we’re going to find out for sure,” said Plant.
Canelo being labeled as a “drug cheat” seems to have been the thing that caused him to go off. Although Canelo claimed that he was angry about being called a “mother f***,” what seemed to set him off was being called a “drug cheat” by Plant.
It’s not surprising that Canelo said the MF comment angered him rather than the “drug cheat” insult. If Canelo said he was upset about the latter, it would be interpreted as guilt by some fans.