LAS VEGAS (Nov. 6, 2021) – History in the super middleweight division was made tonight as pound-for-pound king Canelo Alvarez (57-1-1, 39 KOs) scored an 11th-round knockout victory over Caleb Plant (21-1, 12 KOs) to unify the Ring, WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF 168-pound world titles.
The bout headlined a four-fight pay-per-view card on Showtime.
Canelo is now the first-ever undisputed super middleweight world champion in the modern, four-belt era of boxing. He is also the first Mexican and Latino American fighter to ever accomplish this feat.
The fight was a strategic battle for most of the fight, with Canelo trying to inch closer and closer to Plant to land shots and slow him down.
Plant’s size and reach proved to be effective as it helped him evade shots and even withstand shots when Canelo was able to connect.
However, Canelo closed the show in the 11th round by connecting a lead left hook followed by a right uppercut and another left hook.
Plant was dropped and badly hurt by the exchange. When Plant got back to his feet, Canelo ended matters with a vicious flurry at 1:05 of the aforementioned round.
Anthony Dirrell vs. Marcos Hernandez
Anthony Dirrell (34-2-2, 25 KOs) scored a violent one-punch knockout victory against Marcos Hernandez (15-4-2, 3 KOs) in a light heavyweight battle.
Dirrell and Hernandez exchanged early in the round as Hernandez demonstrated his willingness to trade.
Ultimately, it backfired as he ended eating a vicious uppercut in the fourth-round, ending matters for him immediately.
Rey Vargas vs. Leo Baez
Former 122-pound world champion Rey Vargas scored a lopsided unanimous decision win against former NABA 122-pound champion Leonardo Baez in a featherweight clash.
Vargas’ reach was no match for Baez’ wide offense. The native of Mexicali, Mexico is known for throwing thudding hooks and entering without a jab.
His style proved to be a hinderance tonight as he was unable to cut off the distance to land significant shots, especially when Vargas started counterpunching with his long arms from the outside.
Vargas won with three scores of 100-90. He previously told RBRBoxing.com that he is interested in a matchup between Gary Russell Jr.
We will see if that takes place.
Elvis Rodriguez vs. Juan Pablo Romero
Elvis Rodriguez (12-1-1, 11 KOs) initiated the pay-per-view broadcast with a fifth-round knockout victory against Juan Pablo Romero (14-1, 9 KOs) in a super lightweight showdown.
Rodriguez, who was making his debut with PBC, boxed effectively from his southpaw stance, landing hard shots in each round before dropping Romero with a left hand in Round 4.
In the following round, Rodriguez finished the job with another left hand, forcing the referee to halt matters at an official time of stoppage of 2:59 of the fifth round.
Undercard Results:
Joselito Velazquez vs. Gilberto Mendoza
Joselito Velazquez (13-0-1, 9 KOs) scored an eight-round unanimous decision win against Gilberto Mendoza (19-11-3, 10 KOs) across eight rounds of flyweight action. Velazquez demonstrated defense and offensive skills as he systematically wore Mendoza down.
The native of Cancun, Mexico managed to hurt Mendoza in the fifth round with a counter left hook. But instead of losing his composure, he continued delivering a boxing lesson to eventually win with three scores of 80-72.
Jose Manuel Gomez vs. Jose Antonio Meza
Jose Antonio Meza (8-6, 2 KOs) beat Jose Gomez (12-1, 5 KOs) via unanimous decision in a very close fight. Meza won with three scores of 76-75.
Jan Salvatierra vs. Fernando Diaz
Fernando Diaz (10-1-1, 3 KOs) boxed his way en route to a knockout win against Jan Salvatierra (7-1, 3 KOs). The fight was halted at 2:16 of the fifth round.
Rances Barthelemy vs. Gustavo David Vittori
Rances Barthelemy (28-2-1, 15 KOs) of Havana, Cuba defeated Gustavo Vittori (25-10-1, 12 KOs) of Concordia, Argentina via second-round TKO victory.
The former world champion made quick work in his return, scoring a knockdown before finishing matters at 1:54 of the aforementioned round.
All photos by Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions, Amanda Westcott/Showtime & Sean Michael Ham/TGB Promotions
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