Report: Canelo Alvarez vs. Caleb Plant Fight Close to Being Finalized for November

Canelo Alvarez is nearing a deal to return to the ring in November against Caleb Plant to decide the undisputed super middleweight title, according to Mike Coppinger of ESPN:

Alvarez has been rather quiet since dispatching Billy Joe Saunders in eight rounds on May 8. In addition to retaining his WBA (Super,) WBC and The Ring super middleweight titles, the victory gave Alvarez the WBO super middleweight title. 

The undefeated Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) holds the IBF super middleweight title and has successfully defended it on three occasions after claiming the belt from Jose Uzcategui in January 2019. 

Plant and Alvarez have reached this stage of negotiations before, however, and it did not end well. Coppinger reported on July 29 that a September bout had fallen apart at the "11th hour."  Dmitry Bivol was floated as a replacement for Alvarez to continue his streak of fighting on Mexican Independence Day (Sept. 16), but a deal never materialized. 

Alvarez has celebrated his country's Independence Day with bouts in 2018, 2017, 2016, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009. He is 6-1-1 in those events, falling to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2013 and earning a draw against Gennady Golovkin in 2017. 

The Mayweather bout remains the only blemish on Alvarez's resume. He's since gone 14-0-1, ascending to the top of the sport and becoming as big of a draw as any boxer. In that time, Plant has cemented himself as a top challenger, taking down the likes of Mike Lee, Vincent Feigenbutz and Caleb Truax to protect his title.

Now he's looking to make a deal with Alvarez a reality once again.

It doesn't appear as though a mid-September fight will materialize in 2021, but a shot at claiming all four super middleweight titles in November may be the next best thing.