Canelo eyes history in unification bout with Caleb as Usman targets clash

Saul Alvarez is focused on becoming an all-time great as the Mexican star prepares for his unification showdown with Caleb Plant.

Canelo (56-1-2) will put his WBA, WBC and WBO belts on the line against unbeaten IBF champion Plant (21-0) in Saturday’s blockbuster clash in Las Vegas.

With the winner set to become the first undisputed super-middleweight champion in the four-belt era, he said: “That’s the goal, to be an all-time great. I’m so proud of trying to achieve that.

“I’m never going to stop until I try my best to be one of the all-time greats. Only one thing goes through my mind — and that’s winning.

“That’s the only thing I’m concerned about. Everything else is beyond me. The only thing I care about is what’s going to happen inside the ring on Saturday night.”

Canelo added: “The fact I can make history this weekend is very motivating for me. My goal is to make this an unbelievable weekend for Mexico.”

The latest meeting between the title-holders was much more civil than September’s news conference, when the pair were involved in a physical altercation.

Speaking on Wednesday, Plant said: “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.

“I’ve been the underdog before. It’s a place I like to be. I like people rooting against me. It gives me extra motivation.

“But when you’re fighting Canelo for undisputed status, you don’t need much more motivation than that.

“Make sure you tune in. This isn’t just the biggest fight of the year, you’re tuning in to witness history when I get crowned the undisputed super middleweight champion.”

Meanwhile, UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is eyeing a sensational boxing clash with Canelo.

Usman, riding a wave of 14 straight victories, flagged the idea ahead of Saturday’s UFC 268 in New York, which would be reminiscent of mixed-martial arts star Conor McGregor’s bout against Floyd Mayweather in 2017.

McGregor lost to undefeated five-division world champion Mayweather via a 10th-round TKO.

Usman said: “I think that’s something that [would be] the biggest ever in history,

“That’s what I’m looking to do. That’s something that scares me. That’s something that gets me up in the morning. That’s something that I might risk leaving my daughter for another 12 weeks for.

“Canelo is a master of his craft. He’s used to these boxers. He’s used to the boxing speed and the boxing movements and things like that.

“We’re different. Sometimes different can be good. What’s wrong with giving him a different look? Of course, it’s a tall tree to climb, but we saw what happened the last time I was the underdog.”