Saul Canelo Alvarez is now the undisputed super middleweight champion of the world after knocking out Caleb Plant in Las Vegas, to become the king of the division.
The Mexican ended the fight with an 11th-round knockout of the American, taking Plant’s IBF super-middleweight title and defending his own WBC, WBO, and WBA belts.
That was the second knockdown of the round for Alvarez, who had first sent Plant sprawling with a powerful left hook. “That‘s the way it had to finish. I went for the kill,” he said after the fight.
Alvarez was well ahead on all of the scorecards 97-93, 96-94, 98-92 – at the time of referee Russell Mora’s stoppage.
Alvarez, who remains undefeated since losing on points to Floyd Mayweather Jnr in 2013, is only the sixth boxer since 1988 and first from Mexico to be undisputed world champion after getting his hands on Plant’s belt.
He adds it to the WBA and WBC belts he took from Callum Smith last December and the WBO title he won off Billy Joe Saunders in May.
Plant was unbeaten in 22 fights before fighting Alvarez. He had held the belt since 2019 and defended it three times, but his two-year reign ended after Alvarez defeated him today.
The Mexican became unanimous champion with his knockout victory when the fight was stopped by the referee at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
“It hasn‘t been easy to get to this point. With your support, my family and my team, we got very far. This is for everybody, especially for Mexico,” Alvarez said in the ring draped in his belts.