CANELO ALVAREZ saw his undisputed title fight with Caleb Plant collapse as he wanted to keep his £28million guarantee – even against a replacement opponent.
That is according to ESPN and IBF champion Plant himself, who saw talks to face Canelo on September 18 break down.
Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions were willing to pay the Mexican superstar £28m ($40m) to fight on their pay-per-view platform.
But it is claimed Canelo, 31, wanted reassurance that should Plant, 29, withdraw, he would still keep his career-high purse no matter who the opponent.
And that is was ultimately led to negotiations between the two super-middleweights breaking down.
Plant told ESPN: “One that is absurd: If I get injured or sick then he gets a late replacement for the same amount of guaranteed money, but if he gets sick or injured, then we gotta wait for him.
“We’re at seven-and-a-half weeks from the fight; we’ve lost valuable time that should be spent promoting and drug testing for a fight of this magnitude.”
Plant also claimed he agreed to a rematch clause if he won and conceded the lion-share of PPV and ticket sales revenue.
He said: “His bark is bigger than his bite. Canelo was offered the highest guarantee of his career.
“He was set to make $40million plus Mexican TV rights and his Hennessy sponsorship. No problem, let’s fight.
“We gave it to him. Then they wanted upside of gate and PPV revenue; no problem, let’s rumble.
“It was always agreed that it was a unification; no rematch for either fighter.
“Towards end of negotiations they asked for a rematch when they lose. No problem, you can have the rematch as well, I just wanna fight.”
Canelo beat Brit Billy Joe Saunders, 31, in May to add the WBO title to his 168lb collection.
And, as a free agent he entered talks with Plant, who has the IBF crown missing from his unified collection.
But with the four-belt undisputed title decider now set to fall by the wayside, Canelo could look at alternate options.
WHAT NOW FOR CANELO?
That includes moving back up to light-heavyweight to challenge Dmitry Bivol, 30, for the Russian’s WBA title.
Canelo has only once fought at 175lb, when he won the WBO strap against Sergey Kovalev, 38, in November 2019.
But he immediately vacated it to move back down to super-middleweight – where his goal was to unify the division.
Bivol is signed to Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom stable and sports streaming service DAZN.
Canelo terminated his DAZN deal in 2020, but has since worked as a free agent with promoter Hearn on the platform.
It makes a title fight with Bivol easy to negotiate.
Another alternative would be to wait and re-start talks with Plant, but the American was sceptical of Canelo’s recent commitment.
He said: “I question whether legacy or money is their real motive.
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“We’ve been waiting for him to get done with his wedding, shooting his TV show, his golf tournament and now have tried to give him everything he wants and more to make this fight.
“I’m more than willing, able and ready to fight Canelo Alvarez on any date.
“Those are the real facts and if anyone has something to say differently, we have the paperwork to prove it.”
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