Caleb Plant and Canelo Alvarez kept the drama to a minimum at the final news conference ahead of their showdown Saturday night for the unified super middleweight title. They meet in the main event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, with the Showtime pay-per-view portion of the card scheduled to start at 9 p.m. ET. The winner will hold all four titles in the division, as Alvarez brings the WBC, WBA and WBO belts to the table. Plant holds the IBF crown. The combatants scraped at the opening press conference in August amid little security, and the scuffle left Plant with a cut above one eye. A potential repeat was avoided Friday as they were led off opposite sides of the stage without a stare down, and they will settle their differences in the ring.
The latest Canelo vs. Plant odds from Caesars Sportsbook list Alvarez as the -800 favorite (risk $800 to win $100), while Plant is the +550 underdog. The over-under for total rounds expected is set at 9.5 with the under juiced to -150. There are also numerous Canelo vs. Plant prop bets to consider for this huge fight. Before locking in any Canelo vs. Plant picks, make sure you check out the betting advice and boxing predictions from SportsLine expert Brandon Wise.
Wise, who is the combat sports editor for CBS Sports, is an experienced boxing analyst. His strong 2021 boxing record includes correctly calling victories for polarizing social media influencer Jake Paul over former UFC fighters Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley. What's more, the respected combat analyst also called Herring (+105) to upset Carl Frampton (-125) in April. Anyone who has followed Wise's combat sports picks has seen massive returns.
Now, with Saturday's unification fight in sight, Wise has studied Canelo vs. Plant from every angle and identified the best value in the boxing odds. You can only see his confident prop bet and money line picks at SportsLine.
Canelo vs. Plant preview
Although still just 31, Alvarez (56-1-2) already is a four-division world champion and the lone defeat of his career came in a decision loss to a prime Floyd Mayweather more than eight years ago. Now that he is in the midst of his own prime, Alvarez has focused the remainder of his career on building his legacy.
Boxing currently has only one unified champion, Josh Taylor at 140 pounds. Many boxing observers will accurately point out that the lack of unified champions has as much to do with the problem promoters have with making such fights as opposed to lack of qualified candidates.
Even so, Alvarez says he believes the rarity of the opportunity is part of why accomplishing it means so much to him. He has had his share of lackluster wins against mandatory challengers, but the fight against Plant shows that he intends to take on matchups that will build his accolades and enhance his legacy.
"It's really important for me because few fighters in history have done it. None in Latin America," Álvarez told the media this week. "This is the most important fight of my career."
Part of Plant's confidence stems from his belief that he has no reason to be intimidated by Alvarez, even though he knows the general public is far more familiar with his opponent than they are with him. Even so, Plant (21-0) told the media this week that he didn't become an undefeated champion by accident and is eager to show the sporting world his skills.
He's also aware that a win over Alvarez would be widely considered a monumental upset and provide him an opportunity at immediate stardom and the guarantee of several handsome paydays. He notes that Alvarez has had a handful of close fights, but his opponents lacked the resilience or skill to finish the job.
For example, former WBA middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs was expected to give Alvarez fits with his length and speed when they met two years ago. Jacobs came on strong in the latter rounds to make it close on the scorecards, but his extreme caution cost him many early rounds that Alvarez banked in order to get the win.
"People are going to say what they're going to say. But I get the final say and I can't wait to prove everything in the ring. I can't focus on what other people say about me. If I listened to the doubters, I wouldn't even be here," Plant said.
How to make Canelo vs. Plant picks
Wise likes the over 9.5 rounds at a price of -125 in the latest Caesars boxing odds. He's also locked in a strong money-line pick and multiple prop bets that return greater than +200. You can only see those picks at SportsLine.
Who wins Canelo vs. Plant? And which props can lead to some big returns? Visit SportsLine now to see Brandon Wise's best bets for Saturday, all from the CBS combat sports specialist who has crushed his boxing picks in 2021, and find out.
