LAS VEGAS – Caleb Plant is well aware of the close calls that have gone Canelo Alvarez’s way over the years here in “The Fight Capital of the World.”
The Mexican superstar has benefitted from some debatable judging in his split-decision victory over Erislandy Lara in July 2014 and his split draw with Gennadiy Golovkin in their first fight in September 2017. One besmirched judge, CJ Ross, even credited Alvarez with fighting Floyd Mayweather to a draw, 114-114, in a 12-rounder Alvarez very clearly lost in September 2013.
Plant, the obvious “B” side of this Showtime Pay-Per-View fight against Alvarez, still has avoided wasting energy on thinking about a potential scoring controversy Saturday night at MGM Grand Garden Arena.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission has assigned two of boxing’s most consistent, experienced judges in high-profile fights – Nevada’s Dave Moretti and New Jersey’s Steve Weisfeld – to score his showdown with Alvarez. Nevada’s Patricia Morse Jarman also will work their 12-round, 168-pound title unification fight for Alvarez’s WBA, WBC and WBO belts and Plant’s IBF championship.
The 29-year-old Plant, of Ashland City, Tennessee, is confident those judges will get it right if he out-boxes Alvarez, a 12-1 favorite according to several prominent online sportsbooks.
“No concern,” Plant told a small group of reporters regarding the judging. “I can’t put my energy in, you know, I can’t put anything into that. That’s out of my reach. That’s out of my control, and I can’t focus on that. As I’ve said before, the only thing I’m focused on is my team and my game plan. And I’ve just gotta believe that the right people were put in place to make the right call. So, anything outside of that, I’m not thinking about.”
Moretti and Weisfeld will work an Alvarez fight together for the third time.
They each scored Alvarez a 115-113 winner over Daniel Jacobs in their 12-round middleweight title unification fight in May 2019 at T-Mobile Arena. Connecticut’s Glenn Feldman gave Alvarez a 116-112 win against Jacobs, who lost a unanimous decision.
In September 2018, Moretti and Weisfeld submitted the same score, 115-113, for Alvarez in his 12-round, majority-decision defeat of Gennadiy Golovkin in their middleweight championship rematch at T-Mobile Arena. Feldman scored that bout a draw, 114-114.
Morse Jarman had Alvarez ahead of Jose Cotto, 78-73, before Alvarez stopped Cotto in the ninth round of the only Alvarez fight she has officially scored in May 2010 at MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Plant’s team didn’t take issue with any of the three judges assigned to the biggest fight of his career, or referee Russell Mora.
“The way I see this fight turning out is, you know, Jimmy Lennon saying, ‘And the new undisputed and still undefeated,’ ” Plant stated during their final press conference Wednesday at MGM Grand. “And, you know, as far as the judges goes, he’s had multiple close fights with Lara, Austin Trout gave him a good fight, Triple-G has given him good fights … but I believe that the right people are put in place to make sure that the right decision is made come Saturday night. And anything other than that is out of my control. So, all I can focus on is the game plan, me and my team and the job that has to be done. And that’s what we’re focused on.”
The winner between Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KOs) and Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) will become just the sixth fully unified champion in any division during boxing’s four-belt era. Their bout will headline a four-fight Showtime Pay-Per-View event set to begin at 9 p.m. EDT and 6 p.m. PDT ($79.99).
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
