After the fight: Evaluating Caleb Plant, Canelo Alvarez, and the super middleweight division

Caleb Plant easily took care of Caleb Truax. Assuming Canelo Alvarez is victorious in his next two fights, do we see Alvarez vs. Plant in the fall?

As expected, Caleb Plant thoroughly defeated Caleb Truax, and the landscape of boxing’s super middleweight division could be narrowing.

Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) defended his IBF title for the third time on Jan. 30 against Truax at the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles. Unlike Plant’s last fight in February of 2020 in front of his hometown Nashville crowd, no audience was present for his matchup with Truax. Instead, he displayed masterful boxing to those watching live on FOX.

Plant didn’t knock Truax out, but he outboxed him from bell to bell in a complete performance. His jab was quick and precise. Plant’s left hook to the head jarred Truax throughout the fight, and he mixed in punches low and high.

Plant’s defensive skills and reflexes tormented the 37-year-old Truax. Truax was only able to connect with 47 punches throughout all 12 rounds of boxing. Truax looked slow, but Plant’s quickness and ability to move around the ring had a lot to do with Truax’s inability to land punches.

Plant checks a lot of the necessary boxes you want to see in a world champion. He has youth, speed, a decent chin, and good stamina. Plant has a lot going for him, but his performance didn’t persuade some people on social media that he has what it takes to defeat WBA and WBC champion, Canelo Alvarez.

Plant didn’t knock out Truax, which brings his power into question for some critics. He has never been much of a knockout artist, and that’s okay. Plant has a 57 percent KO rating. That number reveals some pop but not enough to hurt a boxer of Alvarez’s caliber.

Plant relies on his boxing skills to beat his opponents. If the knockout comes, it’s due to an accumulation of punishment. Long time super middleweight great Andre Ward enacted that mantra all the way through his undefeated 13-year career. Ward had a 50 percent KO rating.

That comparison might make some cringe. No, Plant isn’t on Ward’s level, but he’s 28 years old and still has time to raise his game. He needs the right dancing partners to help him push past his limits. That’s the point his critics bemoan the loudest.

Yes, Plant needs to fight better opposition to further his status, but he has time on his side. He is under 30 and now has all of his mandatory defenses taken care of, as promoter Tom Brown pointed out to FanSided before the Truax fight. If Plant doesn’t fight stronger opponents soon, then those critiques will have more merit.

Alvarez is tied up for two more fights through May. If Alvarez wins those contests and earns Billy Joe Saunder’s WBO belt, a full unification bout with Plant is that much more desirable. It all seems so perfect, but the politics of boxing have a way of screwing everything up.

Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant are at the top of the super middleweight division, but others could take their place

Alvarez vs. Plant has the potential to capture all the buzz because the scenario for an undisputed megafight between them is easy to imagine. The spotlight shines on the titleholders. While their names are grabbing headlines, several other fighters could be knocking on their door in the future. Alvarez and Plant’s time is now, but the future could belong to someone else if they don’t play their cards right.

Three young boxers could eventually give Plant and Alvarez problems in the division if they continue to improve and mature. People forget that David Benavidez (23-0, 20 KOs) is only 24 years old despite having twice won the WBC title. His problems outside of the ring that also lost him the title twice helped people forget his talent. It remains to be seen if Benavidez can continue to fight as a super middleweight since missing weight against Roamer Alexis Angulo in his last fight.

The hype surrounding Edgar Berlanga (16-0, 16 KOs) and David Morrell (4-0, 3 KOs) is steadily building. Morrell’s amateur background on the Cuban National Team is a testimony to his skill, but he’s little known even though he has the WBA “regular” champion. The WBA doesn’t have much credibility these days.

Berlanga’s punching power is off the charts. He has won all of his 16 fights by first-round knockout. Like Plant, he needs to up his opposition level to prove to people that he has more than heavy fists. He has scary potential that could blossom in 2021. Berlanga and Morrell are both 23 years old.

Any of these younger boxers could develop into a major world champion, but there are boxers outside the division that could shake things up as well. Current middleweights Gennadiy Golovkin, Jermall Charlo, and Demetrius Andrade all hold titles and have the potential to beat either Plant or Alvarez. Golovkin came close to beating Alvarez on two occasions, and Charlo has the power and skill to beat anyone he’s in the ring. Golovkin and Charlo would probably be the favorite against Plant if they fought.

Alvarez is the best boxer in the world, but he’s human like the rest of us. He would be favored against everybody mentioned here, but that’s why they fight—to prove who’s the best. All of these individuals have made it this far because they’re elite warriors that have high ceilings. Many of them don’t know how high that ceiling is until someone of equal skill tests them.

A boxer reaches the next step by overcoming an obstacle. Alvarez is the ultimate challenge for any middleweight or super middleweight, but there might be something special in any of these boxers to surpass Alvarez. We might not see it yet, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there.