CANELO ALEZ needs to take one step further, he must fight an opponent before he can become the undisputed super-middleweight champion.
Caleb Plant, IBF champion and 21-0 challenger, stands across the Las Vegas Ring from him Saturday night as the 7-1 Underdog in a 2-horse Race.
Canelo and Caleb Plant will square off Saturday night to claim the undisputed super-middleweight title
The WBC, WBA, and WBO mastermind is so lacking in skills and marquee names that it's hard for bookies to see how the underdog can win his day.
The 31-year old Mexican has won the world titles at super-welter and middleweight and even at light-heavy. He was only beaten by Floyd Mayweather when he was just 23 years old.
SunSport discovered it was almost impossible to identify five weaknesses Plant could exploit on Saturday.
It was even more difficult to narrow down his strengths to five.
PUNCH
We could have been more specific. We celebrated the Mexican-style body punching Canelo used on brave Brits Liam Smith & Rocky Fielding.
We run the risk of forgetting about the head shots that forced Billy Joe Saunders to quit and knocked Amir Khan unconscious.
He was so brutal that he even beat Callum Smith in the arm. His bicep broke off from the bone, and he needed to have career-saving surgery.
Alvarez puts his feet down and grabs his shot. No body part is above the belt.
It's not always one shot obliteration as per the Deontay wilder playbook. But it is brutal precision punching, and crunching combinations, that have made some of the most tough men in the sport.
HEAD MOVEMENT
Canelo's chin is so beautiful, you don't need to worry about it being protected.
A few of the flush shots GennadyGolovkin, knockout artist Gennady Golovkin, landed across their brilliant 24-rounds would have floored horses but the Guadalajara Ace just marched through it all.
However, Canelo's head movement which he works on at Eddy Reynosos' gym has been making memes all its own thanks to its Matrix-like qualities.
GGG, Miguel Cotto, and Danny Jacobs have been outstanding in their fights.
The 56-1-2 Ace loves to land power shots and plant his feet, so he must be an expert at protecting in the pocket and in range. He has already proven himself to be a master of this old art.
ENGINE
Canelo failed at most two drug tests between his two great bouts against Golovkin. Although he was only given a six-month ban it is a mark of his incompetence that will remain on his record.
Clenbuterol, which he claimed was an asthma drug, is not a steroid that helps to increase strength or fitness, but it is a popular body-building steroid for melting fat.
Canelo has fought in the 12-round distance fourteen times. He also fought on five occasions at the 10-round distance before becoming a household star. He has never looked so exhausted in the last stretch.
Even though he was light-heavyweight, putting on muscle to reach 12st 7lbs to blast out Sergey Kovalev, his gas tank didn't seem to be affected by the additional strain.
Canelo's aerobic capacity means that he always rings the final bell. However, he is still a threat until the very last second.
Kovalev and Billy Joe Saunders were stopped at different stages in their bouts. This proved that nobody is safe until the final bell.
EXPERIENCE
The youngest of seven brothers, the flame-haired star is also one of the most successful professional boxers.
The prodigy of pugilism, who had little experience in amateur pugilism, turned professional at the age of 15 and began to learn the art the hard way.
He had seven fights in 2006, and he did the same in 2007. In 2007, he increased the ante to eight fights.
Canelo will be fighting his fifth opponent in just 12 months, even though elite fighters are able to afford to fight twice or three times per year.
The ace has had a difficult time with southpaws. He outpointed KO artists and stunned opponents early.
Caleb Plant must do something extraordinary on Saturday, as his opponent has seen it all before.
ARROGANCE
There is a fine line between arrogance and confidence. Boxing is a sport where arrogance can be a powerful weapon.
How many of Saul Alvarez’s opponents have believed that they could beat him?
What number of victims has he rescued from the bottom of the barrel? How many have he calmly said, "You are not on my level"? How many victims has he persuaded?
Everyone wants to fight Canelo, he's the biggest payday in the sport. He knows this too and takes great pleasure in telling people that they are getting their wages.
Already a bloody rival, the Mexican has drawn blood. Plant counter-slapping Plant took two great shots at their prefight press conference. The American designer sunglasses cut his right cheek, and the Mexican's designer sunglasses were ripped off.
Plant has won his shot and his cheque, but he will need to have superhuman belief to overcome the will of Saul Alvarez.
