Eddie Hearn believes that Caleb Plant is being held back from fighting Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.
Alvarez last fought in May when he defeated Billy Joe Saunders to take his WBO super middleweight belt to add to the WBA and WBC belts he already held.
That leaves IBF champion Plant as the final piece in the jigsaw for Canelo to become the undisputed division champion.
Hearn and Plant’s representatives have been in talks with the aim of setting up a September bout, but of late the Matchroom promoter has hinted at his frustration over the lack of progress in securing a date.
Speaking to the DAZN Boxing Show, Hearn expressed similar sentiments.
“Al Haymon doesn't really want to give up Caleb Plant, you know, to Canelo Alvarez. I didn't know that. Well, I mean, I'm presuming I mean, I think that that's pretty obvious,” he said.
“Like, if you've got a belt and a piece of that 168 pound division. Really, he will want to use that almost as bait to bring Canelo in and sign a five-fight deal or six-fight deal,because he knows how bad Canelo wants to be undisputed...
“It comes down to the fighter that, you know, the fighters, they trust advisors they treat, you know, maybe they've got a better plan. But where I'm looking at it, there's a huge amount of money on the table for Caleb Plant to fight Alvarez in September. But it's really down to him.
“You know, if he really wants to create his own legacy, if he really believes he can win, then he's got to be the guy that stands up and says, 'I'm actually sorry, you know, I appreciate you might want me to fight [David] Benavidez instead, or someone else said, but actually, this is my moment, and I believe I can beat Canelo'.”