It’s easy to get disenfranchised from time to time as a fan of combat sports.
This niche of the sports world is rife with trash talk, and half the time when the fight is over, the trash talk is out the window with apologies and put-it-all-behind-us-ness. It makes it hard to wonder if the handshakes and make-up moments are sincere if you they’ve left you wondering if the we-hate-each-other moments are sincere.
But there was a private moment – well, as private as things can get with dozens of people around them in the ring – between Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant earlier this month that seems remarkably pure and honest for boxing and combat sports in general.
Alvarez, a four-division titleholder, knocked out Plant in the 11th round to become an undisputed super middleweight champ. Plant gave Alvarez a run for his money early in the fight, but ultimately the Mexican megastar stopped the Tennessee-based Plant late in the fight.
Afterward, seen in footage posted to Twitter by Steve Boxman, Alvarez and Plant met in the middle of the ring.
Alvarez told Plant he was a good fighter, and Plant said he was sad he lost. Alvarez then apologized for things that went down in the build-up for the fight, as did Plant for calling Alvarez a “motherf*cker.”
But the end of the conversation was particularly touching when Alvarez told Plant he has a beautiful family, and that he, in fact, was now part of his family.
Check out the fly-on-the-wall exchange below:
This is amazing #boxing pic.twitter.com/Ihw7hTCxPi
— Steve Boxman (@SteveBoxman) November 14, 2021
The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.
Video: Watch Canelo Alvarez, Caleb Plant’s touchingly heartfelt in-ring moment
