Canelo Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KOs) and Caleb Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) got into a bit of a scuffle at a press conference to promote their November 6 fight at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas. Plant ended up with a cut underneath his right eye.

“He was talking about my mother,” Alvarez said in an interview with ESPN.

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“The bad thing he said, ‘you mother—er,'” he said. “You can say whatever you want to me, but not to my mother… That’s why I pushed him, and he came back with a left hook.”

Prior to the press conference, Plant had called out the Mexican boxer for his doping violations back in 2018.

“Taking illegal substances doesn’t happen because you’re confident,” he said. “It happens because you’re afraid. That just gives me more confidence. I’ve dedicated a lot to this sport, and it will be my life’s working coming together in that one moment when I beat him. It would etch my name in the history books, and that’s what I’m here to do.”

The two boxers will be fighting for the Super Middleweight title and broadcast on Showtime pay-per-view. Alvarez will be defending the WBC, WBA, and WBO super middleweight title against the undefeated Plant, who possesses the IBF title.

Saturday night’s showdown was an absolute war.

Canelo-Golovkin II concludes with new belt-holder Alvarez

Anticipated for an entire year, the fight between middleweights Gennady “Triple G” Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez  at T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, was the radioactive, grueling death match between two of the greatest boxers of the modern generation. Going the full twelve rounds, the heavy-hitters dealt kinetically charged missiles to each other, with a total of 202 punches landed for Canelo, and 234 for the previously undefeated Golovkin. Power punches, however, were the tells of the tale in Vegas: a 143-116 edge to Canelo helped to make his case to the judges, while also landing a higher percentage. Golovkin landed 70 power shots in the final six rounds, after only 46 in the first six rounds.

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A momentous finish to the instant-classic was Triple G’s biggest separation from Canelo. After a mundane jab-fest form the former middleweight champion, atypical for his fighting style, Golovkin flipped a switch and delivered a flurry of his feared uppercuts to the fearless Alvarez. Fearless is the keyword here. Canelo, accused by Golovkin of “running” in their 2017 bout, impressed by rooting himself in the middle of the ring, rarely cowering despite the onslaught from Triple G.

But Golovkin almost knocked him out. The ninth round saw what was a blinded fury from the dominant middleweight, thwarting the counterpuncher Canelo with bludgeoning hooks to the kidneys and temples throughout. Canelo looked just about finished but was admirably unrelenting to the world-renowned punches from Golovkin’s right hand. If not to the stamina of Golovkin, this is all a testament to Canelo, a magnificent boxer with a superb chin and a spirit of unwavering gaul. The narrative was written for Canelo’s redemption, as the judge’s hair-thin decision ultimately thrust Canelo into superstardom just as a storybook might have ended.

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After a year marked by a suspension for performance-enhancing drugs and verbal clashes with his opponent, Canelo was able to win the “story of the fight” over Golovkin. The aging Khazakstani middleweight, who won more rounds, landed more punches and was never once close to being knocked out. Canelo’s lateral scurries from Golovkin merited him a draw and a rematch, in which he reinvented himself, fighting “Mexican style”. This won over both judges and fans, finally facing the power-puncher straight on, (something that was expected in last September’s bout) and won the fight because of it.

Golovkin needed a knockout – or at least a knockdown – to win himself the “story.” Winning everything else just wasn’t enough.

Canelo Alvarez is facing a potential suspension for doping violations, thus his upcoming fight against Gennady Golovkin may not yet happen.

Canelo Alvarez doping ban, Golovkin fight news

Mexican Alvarez, 27, and middleweight world champion Golovkin are set to headline a major HBO pay-per-view event on May 5 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Bob Bennett has filed a formal complaint against Alavarez, who twice tested positive for the banned performance-enhancing drug clenbuterol in random urine tests conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association in his hometown of Guadalajara, Mexico, on Feb. 17 and Feb. 20.

The commission issued Alvarez a temporary suspension last week and required him to appear at a commission hearing — either in person or via telephone — on the issue on April 10. After Alvarez explained his failed tests, the five-member commission would then vote on whether he can fight on the planned date or if his ban should be extended.

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With the filing of the formal complaint, Bennett made Alvarez’s hearing part of the commission’s regularly scheduled monthly meeting on April 18, just two weeks before the fight date. This would thus make it a near-certainty that the match would not be held as planned.

“After completing my investigation, I made the determination to file a complaint against Mr. Alvarez and set the matter for a disciplinary hearing during the commission’s regularly scheduled meeting on April 18,” Bennett said.

Bennett added, however, that if Alvarez still wished to have his hearing on April 10, the commission would accommodate him.

Because clenbuterol is classified as a prohibited anabolic agent, Alvarez faces a minimum one-year suspension for a first-time offense based on the commission’s doping rules and regulations, which were overhauled in September 2016.

Any suspension is retroactive to the date of the first positive test, which means if Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs) receives a one-year ban but cooperates with the commission and has it reduced to six months, he would be eligible to fight again after Aug. 17.

This means the rematch of his controversial draw with Golovkin — who most believed won — last September could be rescheduled for mid-September of this year.

Should Alvarez be suspended, Bennett stated there would be no fine imposed because there is no fight purse from which to fine him. Alvarez alleges he tested positive for the drug because he consumed contaminated beef while he was in Mexico. Many farmers in the country frequently include clenbuterol, a substance forbidden in the U.S., in cattle feed. The drug helps lower fat and raise lean muscle mass.

MGM Resorts International, the owner of T-Mobile Arena, has begun offering ticket buyers full refunds due to the likelihood that the fight will be cancelled.

Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KOs), 35, a Kazakhstan native fighting out of Santa Monica, California, has already criticized Alvarez. Golovkin accused the Mexican last week of purposely using PEDs in training for the rematch, as well as in preparation for the first fight — for which he never failed a test.

One reported potential replacement option is fringe contender Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan (27-2, 19 KOs), 33, of Ireland, who was probably going to fight on May 4 on Golden Boy’s ESPN card in Las Vegas.

Judge Adelaide Byrd, one of the three judges who evaluated the middleweight bout between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin in Las Vegas on Saturday night, will not receive sanctions of any kind despite her controversial decision, according to Martin Rogers of USA Today Sports.

Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin Fight Judge News

Byrd called the fight in favor of the 5-foot-9, 164-pound Alvarez 118-110, while Don Trella ruled it as a draw and Dave Moretti went for Golovkin, 115-113.

“Unfortunately, Adalaide was a little wide tonight,” said Bob Bennett, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. “She saw the fight for Canelo and obviously she was wider than the other two. Take a look at her record the last three years like I have and the worst you will find is she is maybe out two rounds.”

In this instance, there were five rounds — the third, fifth, sixth, eighth and ninth — where Byrd’s card was the opposite of both the other judges.

Kazakhstani Golovkin (37-0-1) — who holds three middleweight titles — said he felt “terrible” following Byrd’s uneven scorecard in favor of his opponent helped lead to a draw.

“I think she turned in her scorecard before the fight started,” Golovkin trainer Abel Sanchez said. “I think she needs to go back to school and learn how to judge a fight.”

Byrd gave the 27-year-old Mexican Alvarez (49-1-2) ten of the 12 rounds, and awarded the 159-pound, 5-foot-10 Golovkin, 35, only the fourth and the seventh.

Despite all this, Bennett said Byrd will be allowed to preside over major fights in Nevada in the future.

“It happens, it happens to every judge,” Bennett added. “We all go back and we debrief, like a sports team or a swat team. That’s the life of a judge, you take the good with the bad.”

“Unfortunately she wasn’t in the ballpark tonight, she saw it differently. She had a bad night.  She will come back swinging and hit the ball out of the park. Do I have full confidence in her? Yes.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, even Alvarez’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya said, “What was that? People are scratching their heads. They’re confused.”

LAS VEGAS, NV – SEPTEMBER 16: Canelo Alvarez (R) hits Gennady Golovkin in the sixth round of their WBC, WBA and IBF middleweight championship bout at T-Mobile Arena on September 16, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The boxers fought to a draw and Golovkin retained his titles. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

After the Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather fight put fans to sleep, the Canelo Alvarez and James Kirkland slugfest showed why boxing still has a pulse.

Alvarez walked in with a two-fight winning streak after posting his first loss in a 12-round majority decision versus Mayweather. On the other hand, Kirkland is coming off of time off due to legal troubles. Still, he is riding a four-fight winning streak with his last bout boasting an impressive sixth-round knockout against Glen Tapia in 2013.

Needless to say, there was some hype behind this fight with both fighters boasting over 25 wins via knockout. And though it was extremely short, it really did not disappoint. Kirkland came out swinging, but Alvarez played amazing defense and fired back in the first round, catching Kirkland with a quick right to send him to the mat for the first of three times.

And while Kirkland responded in the second with heavy blows, he never recovered from the initial knockdown. He spent a lot of time on the ropes with Alvarez just teeing off on him. It was only a matter of time before he went down again, with a right uppercut doing the job against the sluggish former middleweight champion.

https://youtu.be/JCBoSjpe2fk

But it was not until the third round that the fight was called, as Alvarez had Kirkland pinned against the ropes yet again. Then Canelo delivered a jaw-dropping right that spun his opponent around and sent him collapsing to the mat out cold. Referee Jon Schorle quickly ended the match with 2:19 left in the third round.

In the end, Alvarez landed a whooping 87 out of 150 total punches (58 percent) and Kirkland only landed 42 of 197 (21 percent).