All hail the king: Canelo basks in historic achievement as first undisputed super middleweight champion

Las Vegas, November 7: Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez revelled in his history-making performance after becoming the first undisputed super middleweight champion at the expense of Caleb Plant.

Canelo etched his name in the history books courtesy of his brutal 11th-round knockout of previously unbeaten IBF champion Plant in their blockbuster unification showdown in Las Vegas on Saturday (November 6).

The aggressor, Canelo sniffed blood in the penultimate round after flooring Plant (21-1) and the Mexican superstar hunted down his opponent before landing the killer blow to sweep the division with his WBA, WBC and WBO belts, plus the IBF crown.

Canelo, 31, is the first Mexican to achieve the feat and sixth fighter since the WBO began sanctioning world title bouts in 1988 to hold all four boxing belts.

All hail the king...#CaneloPlant pic.twitter.com/YRWmxS7sqC

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) November 7, 2021

"It signifies so much in the history of Mexico to be an undisputed champion," Canelo said post-fight after improving his professional record to 57-1-2.

"There's only six. It keeps me happy, very motivated to be one of six undisputed champions of the world."

"It hasn't been easy to get to this point, but with your support, my family, my team, we've gotten really far," Canelo said.

"This is for everybody, especially for Mexico."

Canelo added: "He was making things a little difficult, but [trainer] Eddy [Reynoso] told me, 'Let's keep with the game plan in the last two rounds here.

"And in the end, I got him. That's the way it had to finish. He was already hurt, and I went in for the kill."

🇲🇽👑#CaneloPlant pic.twitter.com/nqHl5EtW3f

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) November 7, 2021

There was plenty of tension heading into the highly anticipated clash at MGM Grand after the pair were involved in a physical altercation during September's news conference.

Canelo and Plant were more civil in the week leading up to the fight, and the duo shared a warm embrace at the conclusion of their contest.

"My respect to Caleb Plant," said Canelo. "He's a very difficult fighter with a lot of ability. I do respect the fighter.

"We're men at the end. He wanted to continue. I said, 'There's no shame. We had a great fight today'."