CALEB PLANT is training with boxing royalty to try and dethrone Canelo Alvarez, super-middleweight king.
In a title decider, the American put his IBF title up against Canelo’s WBC and WBA belts.
Caleb Plant and Canelo Alvarez ahead of their fight
Plant must defeat the world's best boxer right now. However, he has not stopped training in his camp.
SunSport exclusive: Justin Gamber, the unbeaten champion's trainer, goes inside his ten-week preparations.
DURATION
Plant was all set to fight Canelo by September. However, talks fell apart and terms were finally agreed for November.
Gamber explained that despite the fact that he was able to stay an additional two weeks at camp, Gamber and his partner are always in the gym.
He stated that eight weeks after the fight, we increased the ante and this camp was ten.
"We did two extra weeks, but it doesn’t matter because we’re always in the gym anyway."
THE APPROACH
Plant insists that despite facing No1 pound-for pound, nothing has changed in their approach. Gamber agrees.
He said: "We basically stick with the formula - We added a few drills to this camp, but we pretty much always follow that."
"We treated it as any other camp. We're not fighting just any fighter.
"There is a reason Canelo is the best pound-for-pound, but our approach wasn't any different.
"We've been working on technical aspects, but at the end, Caleb Plant is himself, and the best version of himself. That's all that matters."
ANDRE WARD
Plant, 29 years old, got a lot of attention when he posted pictures while training with Andre Ward (37), who retired 32-0 as a modern legend in 2016.
Ward and Ward spent three days with Virgil Hunter, Ward's former trainer in Los Angeles. This allowed them to absorb the vast amount of knowledge available.
Gamber stated: "I know Caleb, Andre, and Caleb mentioned that Andre invited Caleb up there. I encouraged him to go.
"Andre is a great boxer, smart, Caleb has looked up to Andre over the years and I encouraged him.
"It was short, maybe three days, and Caleb was happy to get away just before camp to clear his mind and be around positive, good people.
"They had good ideas, and at the end, they are friends with Caleb. They're also friends with ours, and they wanted to invite Caleb to come and support him."
SPARRING
Plant is based out of Las Vegas, a hotspot for Stateside quality sparring.
He took full advantage of the opportunity to share rounds with Shawn Porter, an ex-welterweight champion who will fight undefeated Terence Crawford November 20.
Gamber said: "Shawn is the biggest name. We did a bit of work together with Carlos Adames, and we also worked with other guys.
Shawn was the biggest and most well-known name, so we were used to sparring Shawn every now and again. Although it's been quite some time, we have sparred him many times.
"Just like Andre we are friends with Shawn, his team, and we respect them. He has a lot of work ahead of him with Terence Crawford.
"And Terence, who is a little taller that Shawn, and it was good for Shawn's and Caleb sparring one another, it was good.
THE CUT
The explosive fight began early, when rivals started brawling on stage during their LA press conference.
Plant was left with a cut that could have an impact on his sparring. Gamber assured him that there were no such issues.
He said, "I had actually thought that."
"I was curious if it would set us back a few days. I knew it wouldn’t, if at all, but I wouldn’t call them cuts.
They were more like scratches than anything else, but they didn’t slow us down at all, and we didn’t miss a sparring session.
"He visited the doctors to confirm, but the doctor assured us that everything was in order and there was no problem."
THE TACTICS
He has won titles in four different divisions during a 59-fight fight career that began when Canelo was 15.
Gamber is aware that Plant must be flexible in his approach. This gives Alvarez something to ponder over all night.
He said, "You can't be just a boxer with Canelo. You have to have the heart and the mind, the grit. You've also got to have that junkyard dog in your, but you have to be smart.
"You have to be able box in different ways. It's not enough to just move and stick. You have to be able to go forward and counter punch.
Caleb will have to be aggressive with Caleb at times, because you can't do everything one way.
"He's going have to mix it up, but Caleb has all he needs to win the fight, I know that."
