The tone for the rematch between Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant was set before stepping in the ring as the two exchanged punches at their September press conference.
ESPN's No.1 ranked remaining fight of the year had a lot on the line -- the WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF super-middleweight titles to be exact.
Alvarez entered the bout in possession of the first three titles as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, but looked to make history as the first undisputed champion in the division in the four-belt era. "The goal is to be an all-time great. I'm so proud of the journey I've taken to achieve that. I'm not going to stop until I've tried my best to reach that goal," Alvarez said ahead of the fight.
On the other end, Plant, who possessed the fourth title, had his eyes on completing the upset.
"I've been the underdog before. It's a place I like to be," said Plant. "I like people rooting against me. It gives me extra motivation, but when you're fighting for undisputed status, you don't need much more motivation than that."
In the end, Alvarez fulfilled his quest to become the undisputed super middleweight champion at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The bout ended in the eleventh round by way of TKO.
The fight's results garnered plenty of attention on social media with Manny Pacquiao, Dez Bryant and a host of others weighing in.
There's a new undisputed champion and his name is @Canelo 🏆 #CaneloPlant
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) November 7, 2021
(via @ShowtimeBoxing) pic.twitter.com/PLhIqXMG1L
Congratulations to the pound for pound king, @canelo, on making boxing history as the first undisputed super middleweight champion ever. Plant put up a great fight but Canelo is just too good. Boxing is in great hands.
— Manny Pacquiao (@MannyPacquiao) November 7, 2021
Canelo finally put punches together! And Plant stayed close too much. Great effort by Plant however. #CaneloPlant
— Teddy Atlas (@TeddyAtlasReal) November 7, 2021
Canelo was excellent tonight. Welcome to the club 🤪 🥊 #UNDISPUTED 👑
— Josh Taylor (@JoshTaylorBoxer) November 7, 2021
Canelo is me at 168..facts
— Gervonta Davis (@Gervontaa) November 7, 2021
Congrats to Canelo he closed the show like a true champ. Respect to Plant.
— Danny 'Swift' Garcia (@DannySwift) November 7, 2021
Canelo wow
— kuz (@kylekuzma) November 7, 2021
Viva @Canelo!!! pic.twitter.com/vhleDGBqC4
— Mario Lopez (@mariolopezviva) November 7, 2021
Welp... ✊🏾✊🏾 canelo really da best braH.
— ScHoolboy Q (@ScHoolboyQ) November 7, 2021
POUND FOR POUND 1
Man y'all see Canelo record... godly lol
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) November 7, 2021
Plant still a bad dude... just levels man
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) November 7, 2021
