Opinions and Observations: Canelo-Plant

Saul "Canelo" Alvarez threw a leaping left hook in the 11th round on Saturday night that landed high on Caleb Plant's head. The shot hurt Plant and he bent over in obvious pain. Canelo followed up with a short right uppercut and then a left uppercut, dropping Plant to the canvas. After Plant beat the count, Canelo went for the finish. He landed a strafing left hook and then cornered Plant along the ropes and attacked him with a series of power shots at close range that put Plant through the ropes, ending the fight. 

With the victory, Canelo has now become the undisputed champion at super middleweight. The end of the fight was a thrilling display of power punching and finishing, but it was Canelo's actions earlier in the bout that led to the success of that memorable leaping left hook.

A large portion of Canelo-Plant was fought along the ropes, with Canelo pressing forward and Plant defending using the shoulder roll or "Philly Shell" style of defense. The Philly Shell, when employed correctly by an orthodox-stance fighter, creates distance between the defender and the opponent's straight right hand to the head. 

Canelo (right) about to dig in with his left hook
Photo courtesy of Amanda Westcott

Earlier in his career Canelo was befuddled by Floyd Mayweather, who used a similar type of defensive framework. Yet while he was ineffectual against Mayweather in 2013, Canelo was ultimately able to punch his way to a victory on Saturday against Plant. Let's dig into why this occurred in a little more detail. 

In my estimation there were three main differences between the Mayweather and Plant fights for Canelo. One difference was an improvement from Canelo and the other two were aspects where Plant was deficient (one strategic, one technical). 

Against Mayweather, Canelo fell into the trap of looking for a perfect, clean shot. Finding no obvious targets, Canelo mostly kept his hands at bay, waiting, and getting popped while he waited. 

Whereas on Saturday, Canelo hit everything that was available, even if he didn't always land fully flush. He peppered Plant with solid left hooks to the gut and chest. He attacked Plant's left flank with straight right hands. If Plant ducked down, Canelo threw chopping right hands to the top of the head. Canelo was causing damage and landing authoritative blows even if the first shot couldn't find its way home. And more importantly, he blasted Plant's arms and shoulders with shots, not necessarily scoring blows, but punches that can have a significant effect in reducing an opponent's agility. 

Plant made the mistake of spending too much time on the ropes. And even though many fighters can be capable of fighting off the ropes for a period of time or even a couple of rounds, eventually a capable opponent will be able to land his best shots against an immobile target. Although Plant did feature movement during parts of the fight, and successful movement, there were too many portions of the bout where he languished on the ropes, basically inviting Canelo to tee off on him. Mayweather could be great against the ropes, but he utilized the ring far more to his advantage, understanding that the real estate that the ring provided him was an inherent advantage for his athleticism. 

Caleb could have used the center of the ring more in Saturday's fight, and I'm not sure why he didn't. It's an area where he had success during parts of the bout. But perhaps Canelo's pressure and Plant's relative lack of experience was a bad combination. Plant has been hard-wired as a back-foot fighter. It's how he emerged as a prospect in the sport and that style has been paramount in his rise to the championship level. However, the best fighters need to learn multiples ways to win a fight, and on Saturday, Plant was unwilling to press forward, or even to hold his ground in the center of the ring. He ceded far too much ground to the slower-footed Canelo, which was a mistake. 

One other key difference between Plant and Mayweather was that Plant just didn't have Mayweather's right hand. Canelo couldn't throw his left hook with abandon against Mayweather because Floyd had that sharp, stinging counter right; it was one of the best shots in his arsenal. Plant doesn't have a lot of confidence with his right and even when he would throw and land the punch (which didn't really start happening until later in the fight), there wasn't enough mustard on it to dissuade Canelo. 

Canelo with his hardware
Photo courtesy of Amanda Westcott

The following may sound like a back-handed compliment, but I do mean it as a positive: For a one-handed fighter with little power and not enough championship experience, Plant fought as well as could be expected. He won a number of rounds with just his jab and movement alone. He didn't make it easy for Canelo. His defense forced Canelo to really work for the victory. He was a tricky opponent who fought close to the best of his abilities at this point of his career. 

Of course, if Plant had experienced more challenging development fights he would have been in a better position against Canelo. Perhaps he would have acquired the proficiency of how to impose himself on the front foot. Maybe he would have learned that sitting on the ropes round after round could be a detriment against a real puncher. But with that said, Plant, even with his limitations, rose to become a champion and gave Canelo a real fight. 

But let's take this back to the top to provide another example of Canelo's greatness in the ring. As Canelo cornered Plant on the ropes, he moved directly to Plant's left shoulder. This action helped Canelo in two ways. First, because he was so close to Plant, he took away Plant's left hook, which is his best power punch. There just wasn't enough room to land it in close quarters. Second, it allowed Canelo the opportunity to dig to Plant's body with his own left hook. 

Canelo's left hook to the body was his signature punch throughout the fight. And in the 11th when Canelo started to unfurl his left hand, Plant assumed that the shot was going to come to his body. Instead, Canelo went upstairs with the punch and caught Plant by surprise. It was the repeated body attack by Canelo that led to the opening to the head later in the fight. 

Ultimately, the knockout was well-earned by Canelo. Punishing Plant to the body with left hooks, he created the opportunity to go upstairs, and he executed that final deception flawlessly. In the past Canelo could have lost to a fighter with Plant's style. But on Saturday he took what was available, capitalized on a few mistakes, exploited the weaknesses of an under-experienced opponent and won the fight with a perfect combination of intelligence and technical ability. It may not have been Canelo's cleanest performance, but Saturday's victory did reveal numerous aspects of his mastery in the ring. Shorter, smaller, and slower, in the end it didn't matter; Canelo left no questions as to who was better. 

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com.

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook.  

Canelo-Plant: Preview and Prediction

The battle for super middleweight supremacy takes place on Saturday as Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KOs) faces Caleb Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. All of the 168-lb. belts will be on the line and Saturday's winner will become the undisputed champion in the division. 

Although Plant has faced few top opponents in his career, his skills are easy to see. Among all active boxers who fight in the orthodox stance, he has one of the best left hands in the sport. His jab and left hook are significant weapons. He possesses considerable hand and foot speed and his punch placement and accuracy (especially with his left) are impressive. 

Canelo (left) and Plant at the final presser
Photo courtesy of Amanda Westcott

The main issue with Plant is that his left hand is significantly more developed than his right. There isn't a whole lot that Plant does with his back hand other than keep opponents honest from time to time, and often he doesn't do that, even against foes who are far beneath him in skill level. He just doesn't throw his right hand with frequency or confidence.

This is the central conundrum that Plant and his trainer, Justin Gamber, face for Saturday's fight. I'm sure that Canelo realizes the significant difference in effectiveness of Plant's left vs. his right. So naturally Canelo would want to take away Plant's left hand in the fight as much as possible. 

So, what does Plant do if Canelo stands all the way to Plant's right side, well out of the range of Plant's left hand? What if Canelo angles himself as such to make it a battle of the right hands? Canelo has hurt, dropped and stopped opponents with his right, but what can Plant do in this scenario? 

To force Canelo out of his Plan A, Plant has to throw his right hand and needs to do enough with it to gain Canelo's respect. If he can't, it seems hard to envision a scenario where Plant can win. Yes, Plant will have faster hands and feet, but none of that will matter if Plant is unable to land effective punches. 

I expect to see Canelo fight large portions of the match on Plant's right side. It's up to Plant and his team to make Canelo change his strategy. And I'm just not a big enough believer in Plant's right hand to see how he can overcome this predicament. Canelo can shoot right hands to the body. He can throw straight rights from range. He can mix in right hooks when he's in close quarters. Plant doesn't have the same effectiveness with his right. 

If Canelo-Plant becomes a battle of right hands, expect a low punch-volume affair. With both fighters unable to land jabs from this set-up, the fight will be determined by whose single right hands will cause more damage. And in this scenario, I believe that Canelo's right will rule the day.  

To win the fight, Plant will have to show some new tricks, and let's not discount that possibility. He's an intelligent boxer and is very coachable. In addition, he's a fighter who can stick with a game plan very effectively. This will be an enormous hurdle for Plant and Gamber to overcome, but this is their chance to prove themselves on boxing's highest level. If they can get Canelo to move to a Plan B, then the fight could open up much more to their liking. 

I think that there will be a lot of slow rounds early in the fight, with neither fighter able to get off combinations. The early rounds will feature several small tactical battles in terms of movement and positioning, with Canelo trying to get to Plant's right side and Plant attempting to deny that movement. I expect only a few punches of significance in the first few rounds of the match.

As the fight progresses, I think that Canelo's rights to the head and body will start to have their desired effect. Ultimately, I think that he will be able to stop Plant late in the fight from sustained damaged caused by his right. I don't think that Saturday's fight will be Canelo's most dominant performance, but I believe that if he employs the appropriate strategy of staying to Plant's right side, that he will minimize Plant's skill set and will become the undisputed champion at super middleweight. 

Saul Canelo Alvarez stops Caleb Plant in the 11th round.  

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com.

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook.  

Joe Gallagher: Past, Present and Future

When Joe Gallagher was 16, he had to get a job. He followed his dad into the construction trade and whatever dreams he had for making it as a boxer were washed away by his economic reality. 

And while decades later Gallagher would achieve success as a boxing trainer, that pivotal moment from his teenage years still haunted him. Too many kids like him had to put education or athletic achievement aside because of financial necessity. Young adults were falling through the cracks and as a result it would become much harder for them to discover and achieve their potential.  

Unlike many who chafe at society's ills without helping to find solutions, Gallagher decided to take action. In 2018 he started the Joe Gallagher Academy to help 16 to 19-year-olds. Featuring an education curriculum and boxing instruction, the Academy helps students who would otherwise be left out of more traditional educational avenues. Students go through rigorous coursework, prepare for their national exams and receive boxing education from Gallagher and many of his current and former fighters. 

Photo Courtesy of Joe Gallagher

Now in its fourth year and with two locations in the greater Manchester area, the Academy has 50 students with 26 new ones enrolling this year. And for Gallagher, he couldn't be happier regarding the progress of the Academy.  

"It's getting bigger and bigger," Gallagher said. "The female section is growing. We're having national [amateur] champions. We have people who commute on the train every morning from Leeds, from Liverpool, from Stoke, from Carlisle. We had people relocate to Manchester and set up here. I'm very proud of it." 

Gallagher sees the Academy as a second chance for his students. Many had not applied themselves academically or had the confidence to achieve their goals. He sees the boxing part of the program working in tandem with the educational coursework to create more well-rounded individuals. The one-on-one time with professional fighters such as Charlie Edwards, Anthony Crolla, Callum Smith and Tasha Jonas has also been confidence-builders.  

As the Academy has matured, the success stories are growing. A number of students have gone to university. One is part of the Team GB squad. His students now have avenues in their academic, professional and athletic careers that weren't available to them just a few years prior.  

"We have students going into sports psychology," said Gallagher. "They've gone into conditioning, nutrition, journalism and also people that wanted to work in the leisure industry. And some people have carried on and turned professionals or have been called up by the Team GB program."

As part of the Academy, Gallagher pays for an annual trip to Barcelona where his students receive boxing instruction, experience leaving home (a number for the first time), and even take a tour of the Barcelona football (soccer) stadium. He believes that taking students out of their comfort zone is character building and can open their eyes to other opportunities in the world.  

Gallagher's day job is of course a full-time boxing trainer, with current fighters such as Callum Johnson, Edwards, Jonas, Paul Butler, Callum Thompson, Mark Heffron and many others. Gallagher has now been a professional trainer for 20 years, but he is used to the juggling.  

When he started out as a trainer, he was working at the airport. He had a secure job that included strong benefits. But boxing kept gnawing at him. It wouldn't let him out of its grasp. By 2009, Gallagher had established significant momentum with Matthew Macklin and John Murray, both of whom were making their way up the world rankings. Over the objection of many, he made the decision to quit his job at the airport and give boxing his full attention. 

"I was working five nights a week," he said, "working 12-hour shifts. Getting home at 7 o’clock. Get up at 11 or half 11. Get to the gym by 12. Train until 3. Get on the track to 6 or half 6. Then get on the train and start working again at 7. I was shattered at the end of the week...The wife didn’t want me to pack it in, but I just said to her, if you don’t let me do it, I’ll be thinking on my deathbed 'what if, what if.' I told her I just got to go with it." 

And Gallagher, unlike many others, was able to follow his dreams, even if belatedly. It has paid off for him handsomely, with world champions like Callum Smith, Anthony Crolla, Liam Smith and others. He won the Ring Magazine Trainer of the Year Award in 2015, an honor rarely given to a trainer from England.  

Students from the Joe Gallagher Academy
Photo courtesy of Joe Gallagher

Gallagher is no longer the young gun in boxing training and he understands the cycles of the sport. Sometimes you're the hot name. Sometimes another one comes along. In recent years, he's lost fighters to retirement and others like Liam and Callum Smith have joined with other coaches. Gallagher harbors no ill will towards those who have left him. He would rather reflect on what they were able to accomplish together than say a disparaging word. And as Gallagher has lost fighters, he has also added some, most notably former champion Charlie Edwards.  

Although Gallagher has won accolades, he acknowledges that peer and public recognition help motivate him. "When you’re a child at school that’s done well," he said, "you get a sticker in your book and a pat on the back. Or if you’re a salesman selling cars and you hit the target this month and you get the bonus. Boxing trainers are no different. Everyone wants a pat on the back." 

Despite his longevity and success, Gallagher still has the chip on his shoulder of someone who was never given anything. He likes fighters who aren't necessarily blue chips, who have underperformed with other trainers, or who have been written off. He points to Liam Smith as one of his favorite success stories. Gallagher likes his fighters hungry and feeling passed over. It helps with his "us vs. them" mentality. Famously, Gallagher makes every new fighter undergo a month trial period before making a decision on whether the boxer is the right fit for his gym. And that applies to every fighter: world champion or novice. 

He's looking for fighters with a certain mentality – those who want to prove people wrong, those who can be a diamond in the rough, such as Anthony Crolla, a boxer few would have predicted to become a world champion.   

Gallagher is a great talker and he remains a student of boxing. There's very little in the sport that slips past him. He can opine on boxing's trends, problems, and peculiarities. And if he laments the inactivity among top fighters or the sport's inability to produce big fights on a consistent basis, he also knows what boxing has done for him: It has helped him achieve success far beyond his dreams.  

So, while there will always be new dragons to slay in boxing, challenges to face, and opportunities to prove oneself, Gallagher is aware that he has made a real contribution in the sport, and just as importantly he is playing a significant role in helping young adults gain their footing in the world. Gallagher had to chart his own course, against stacked odds, but he knows that he's an exception. Perhaps the odds don't have to be so stacked for his students. Because of his efforts, a few dozen young adults might not need to say "what if, what if." And that extends to the boxing ring, and far beyond. 

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com.

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook.  

Punch 2 the Face Radio

In this week's Punch 2 the Face podcast, Brandon and I previewed the intriguing Herring-Stevenson fight. We also recapped a night of upsets on DAZN with Mikey Garcia and Elwin Soto losing. This was also our five-year anniversary show. We reflected on some of favorite moments of the past five years. To listen to the show, click on the links below: 

Apple podcast link:

Spotify link:

I heart radio link:

Stitcher link:

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com.

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook. 

Opinions and Observations: Fury-Wilder 3

Every now and then boxing reveals a level of primal savagery that reaches far beyond skills, technique and tactics. This type of combat is fighting at its most foundational and scary, harkening back to a time well before there was a sport or rules for engagement. Saturday's Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder heavyweight title fight was an example of this primordial combat. This was two people engaging in a relentless and vicious war of wills to protect what's theirs, to overcome a foe determined to inflict life-changing damage. These fights don't happen often; even many fights of the year don't reach this rarified air. 

Fury-Wilder 3 transcended the notion of a boxing match, even a great one. The fight included five knockdowns, three from Fury and two from Wilder, and resulted in a Fury 11th-round stoppage, but even those eye-catching statistics fail to capture the nature of what transpired in the ring. Fury-Wilder 3 will be remembered for the ferocity of its combat, the unyielding determination of its fighters, and how each combatant was unwilling to succumb. 

Photo courtesy of Mikey Williams

The round-by-round scoring of Saturday's fight was almost incidental. Fury scored a knockdown in the third. Wilder had two in fourth. Fury had a second knockdown in the tenth. But even in the rounds where no fighter went down, the action featured a ferocity and brutality where both left it all in the ring. The kitchen sink was unloaded; all weapons were unholstered. Nothing remained in the gym or the dressing room. 

By the sixth round Fury was in control of the action. Using his 277-lb. frame to batter Wilder in clinches and along the ropes, Fury demonstrated his mastery of close-quarter combat. He landed truly menacing shots: chopping right hands, left hooks to the head and body, right uppercuts and looping right hands. When he would connect with a power punch or a two-punch combination, he would go to town with grappling and bullying, trying to gain control of his opponent physically and mentally. In every round from the sixth on, Wilder looked like he could go down at any moment... but he somehow stayed on his feet; he would not yield. 

Wilder didn't win the eighth, ninth or tenth rounds, yet even after being battered through large portions of those frames, he found moments to turn the tide and unload his best power shots. Unlike in previous fights in the series, Wilder utilized every tool at his disposal. He landed a couple of blistering uppercuts. He flashed a surprise left hook or two. He brought his right downstairs at times. 

In the tenth, Wilder was dropped from a quick right hand from Fury. Wilder was off-balance when the shot landed and badly hurt. Yet even in the final moments of that round, he was able to turn Fury on the ropes and fire back a desperate salvo of huge power shots that temporarily saved him from more damage.

A picture-perfect two-punch combination from Fury in the 11th concluded the fight. With Wilder along the ropes, Fury landed a crushing left hook to the head and followed with a right hook, which Wilder never saw. Wilder fell over to his right side, his body completely defenseless for the ensuing impact. Referee Russell Mora immediately called the fight off. It was the right time to save the fighter from himself. No doubt Wilder would have tried to beat the count, to keep on going. But he had taken too much.  

***

In a much-discussed move after the second Fury-Wilder fight, where Wilder was systematically dismantled by Fury, Deontay fired his co-trainer, Mark Breland. What followed was a lot of nastiness – accusations of cheating, traitorous behavior, poisoning drinks. This was not a dignified time for Wilder and his actions and words led a lot of ill-will in the boxing community. 

Instead of hiring an established cornerman for the third Fury fight, someone with bona fides at the top level, Wilder selected Malik Scott to train him. Scott had been a former opponent of Wilder's and one of his chief sparring partners. Although Scott was certainly inexperienced as pro trainer, he had built a reputation as being one of the best sparring partners in the heavyweight division. And even though his own fights were often tough to sit through because of a lack of action, there was no doubting his considerable boxing foundation. But would he be able to teach Wilder? Would Wilder be receptive to change? 

Photo courtesy of Mikey Williams

Scott's hiring was criticized by many corners in the boxing world. Scott was portrayed as a yes-man, a neophyte and out of his depth. Yet, watching Wilder on Saturday, there was no doubt how much Scott was able to impart on his good friend in just one training camp. 

Wilder on Saturday was exponentially better than he was against Fury in either of their two previous fights. Wilder started with a coherent plan, with long left jabs to the body. The impact of these shots helped to create distance and let Fury know that he couldn't rush in without worrying about return fire. 

Where Wilder was criticized in the past for being a little lazy in the ring, for not trying to win rounds, Wilder fought Saturday's fight with a new-found sense of urgency. And where Wilder often refused to throw anything except his jab and right hand, Scott had Wilder throwing everything in his arsenal – rights and jabs to the body, left hooks, right uppercuts. 

Positionally, Wilder did much better along the ropes than he did in the second fight. Yes, Fury still got the better of the action in most of these moments. But, and this is a big but, Wilder did much better at clinching, working in the clinch and spinning off the ropes. He still lost many of these battles, but he competed in these aspects of the fight far better than he did in their second one, and it's obvious that this was something worked on and improved upon during training camp. 

Even Wilder's two knockdowns on Saturday were uncharacteristic from his past fights. His first came from a mid-range right hand that caught Fury on his way in. His second was from a variety of cuffing shots at short range. These were new wrinkles from Wilder, who usually did most of his best work from distance. Wilder will never be a master in close quarters, but there was improvement on Saturday and a sense that he's not helpless in that range. It's clear that he worked on shortening up his punches and adding some variety to his repertoire. 

Scott, of course, isn't a magician and many of Wilder's bad habits did reemerge when he faced duress. His footwork was too ponderous and he often wasn't in position to throw. He would often cross his feet, which made it tough to defend himself properly. He also didn't return to the jab after having some early success. Maybe it wouldn't have mattered given the nature of the fight, but perhaps the change of pace with the jab would have been able to make a couple of those big shots land with greater impact. 

***  

For as improved as Wilder was in the third fight, he still couldn't get the best of Fury. And it's almost easy to run out of superlatives for Tyson. Not only is he an expert boxer from distance, as he proved in their first fight, but he learned to batter opponents on the inside. He has solutions for every range in a fight. Remember, he beat Wladimir Klitschko mostly as a southpaw, a wrinkle that he didn't even show in the Wilder fights. His footwork, balance and punch variety are uncommonly good for a big man. He's a special talent and as boxing fans we are fortunate to see that he has overcome his personal demons and can now display his myriad gifts to the best of his abilities. 

But ultimately, Saturday's fight and the Wilder trilogy as a whole wasn't about Fury's multiplicity of skills as much as his heart and undeniable fighting spirit. Fury somehow got up from a right hand/left hook combo in the 12th round of the first fight. Almost everyone watching thought that the fight was over after Wilder landed. But not only did Fury persevere, he won the rest of the round. 

Photo courtesy of Mikey Williams

On Saturday Fury recovered from a vicious knockdown in the fourth that short-circuited his senses. Dropped again later in the round, Fury looked like he may not be able to survive. But he took the minute break between rounds, cleared his head and went back to business. By the sixth he had again established control of the fight. His recuperative powers are truly magnificent, but it's not just a physical attribute. He has supreme self-belief and an unwillingness to yield. 

The Fury-Wilder trilogy was an odd one where Fury won two fights cleanly and had a strong case for winning the third, and yet the series was unforgettable. Wilder may have only won seven or so rounds in the whole series, but that aspect won't be remembered. The series produced indelible moments like Wilder's two-piece in the 12th round of fight one and Fury's rising against all odds; Fury's dominance on the inside in the second fight; the ferocious combat from both in the third bout, with each hitting the deck multiple times and throwing everything imaginable to survive, to emerge as the winner.

Fury-Wilder 3 was a gift for boxing fans, a reminder of how special the sport can be. Tyson and Deontay took an unfathomable amount of damage for greater glory and just rewards. It was prizefighting at its very best, and the fight will immediately be added to the annals of great moments in an imperfect sport. Boxing has too many warts and problems to count. But never forget that it also includes Fury-Wilder 3 and fights of this ilk, thrilling examples of the best that sport can offer.  

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com.

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook.