Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant come to blows at heated pre-fight press conference

The fighters exchanged punches and had to be separated

Jamie Braidwood
Tuesday 21 September 2021 22:37 BST
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(Showtime Boxing)
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Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant have clashed at the press conference to announce their upcoming world championship fight.

Words were said as the fighters came face to face for the first time before Mexican superstar Alvarez shoved Plant in the chest, forcing him to stumble backwards.

The unbeaten American then approached Alvarez and threw a punch with his left hand, which Alvarez ducked as he than caught Plant with a left hand of his own.

The pair were then separated by security and their respective teams before the press conference restarted following a delay of around 10 minutes.

Alvarez and Plant will meet on Saturday 6 November in Las Vegas for the undisputed super middleweight championship.

WBC, WBA, and WBO champion Alvarez defeated Billy Joe Saunders in May to retain his belts while the IBF holder Plant is coming off a victory over Caleb Truax in January.

After the press conference had restarted, Plant almost sparked another confrontation after he called Alvarez a “motherf----r”, before the American then accused his opponent of being a drug cheat.

Asked later what instigated the initial scuffle, Plant replied: “We were staring at each other, he had something to say, I had something to say, and then he did what he did so you’ll have to ask him.”

“He can say whatever he wants to me, but not to my mum,” Alvarez replied. “But he swinged first, so I do what I do.”

Both fighters are aiming to become the first undisputed champion in the history of the super middleweight division.

“For me it’s history,” Alvarez [56-1] added. “To be the first Mexican undisputed fighter would be great for my career.”

Plant [21-0] replied: “I’ve dedicated a lot to this sport and it would be my life’s work coming down to one moment. It would etch my name in the history books to do this.”

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