BY Norm Frauenheim-
LAS VEGAS – It was part weigh-in. Part popularity contest.
Caleb Plant made the weight and – from the sound of it – a ton of more enemies.
On any scale, Canelo Alvarez won Friday’s weigh-in by thunderous acclamation for Saturday night’s super-middleweight fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
That wasn’t exactly a surprise. Showtime’s pay-per-view telecast (6p.pm PT/9 pm ET) has always been Canelo’s show. He’s the draw, the irreplaceable dynamic that stirs up the interest, if not the drama. The odds say so. Canelo was still a 10-1 favorite late Friday, according to BetMGM.
The purses say so, too. Canelo will collect at least $40 million, or four times more than Plant’s $10-million guarantee, according to multiple sources.
Canelo, who was at the 168-pound limit Friday, appears to be close to having it all. A final piece, Plant’s International Boxing Federation belt, is expected to be in his possession. sometime Saturday night.
A lot of it depends on Plant (21-0, 12 KOs), however. Can he surprise – stun – the heavily-favored Canelo? His agile footwork and hand speed might give Canelo (56-1-2, 38 KOs) some trouble in the early rounds. Still, the questions are whether he has any real power and whether he can survive a predictable Canelo assault to body and head in the later rounds.
There were no sounds of doubt in Friday’s weigh-in crowd. There were only jeers, all for Plant at every turn. First, there were boos when he stepped onto the scale. Then, there were insults when he stepped off after weighing 167 pounds.
Plant fired back, mocking the Canelo crowd with gestures and words. He looked angry. Then, the Tennessee native turned defiant, sounding like a southern-fried Vanilla Ice.
“It’s easy to sit in those seats,’’ Plant said. “It ain’t easy to stand up here.’’
Canelo, of course, is saying that Plant won’t be standing at all when it’s over. The Mexican superstar says he’ll stop Plant between the seventh and ninth rounds.
With his growing command of English and all its expletives, Canelo trash-talked Plant while the two glared at each other. They were separated by the scale, regulators and promoters. Everybody was anxious to avoid an encore of the brawl that erupted two months ago during a news conference in Los Angeles.
Behind them, stood Mike Tyson, a former heavyweight champion known for wild news conferences and wilder moments. He was standing not far from the floor where he bit off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear in the notorious Bite Fight in 1997.
Tyson likes Canelo. He picks him to win
“He’s the he best fighter of his generation,’’ said Tyson, who at the time almost looked as if he were relieved not to be involved in any of the tension, words and other signs of imminent hostility.
Showtime’s Jim Gray asked him if he missed the scene, a mix of chaos and nervous anticipation.
“Not so much,’’ said Tyson, a Canelo fan who also knew how Plant felt.
He’s been there, a sign perhaps that just about anything can happen Saturday night. Attachments area
