Billy Joe Saunders believes Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez will beat Caleb Plant, but that the American is a tough opponent.
Saunders is Alvarez’s most recent opponent, and lost to him in May, giving up his WBO super middleweight belt in the process.
That leaves just Plant’s IBF belt needed for Alvarez to become the undisputed super middleweight champion - though of course Plant has the same opportunity should he defeat the Mexican.
Speaking to talkSPORT, Saunders suggested that Plant has a chance, even if he is the underdog.
“I don’t think he’s the invincible man,” he said of Alvarez.
“I think that Plant’s got a very good boxing brain, he just needs to maintain his distance.
“Make sure you’re out of distance, don’t just think you’re out of distance because that’s the difference when you’re in with world level and elite [level].
“He’s gotta make sure to be on his game all the way, I think he’s gonna give Canelo a good fight.”
Saunders continued, offering advice: “I think not to switch off for a single second because sometimes you can feel comfortable in there.
“Even with it being Canelo, sometimes you can feel very comfortable.
“I think that’s the time where you’ve gotta realise you’re in there with an elite fighter, not a world class fighter and Canelo is an elite fighter.
“But Plant’s got all the tools to cause him problems…
“He’s obviously gotta keep it at long distance.
“Keep it very busy for the first six rounds and finish strong. He’s gotta certainly maintain that jab.
“Being orthodox – I was southpaw and that causes more problems – so he’s open to more counters obviously than what I would’ve been.
“You’ve gotta maintain your range at safe distance and box nice, and hopefully the judges score the true boxing scorecards, rather than the name of Canelo.”
Despite the words of potential wisdom, Saunders still predicted victory for Canelo.
“I’m gonna go with Canelo on points because of the reason of being Canelo,” he explained.
“I know how hard it is to get a decision and what tricks they might play leading up.
“He can’t let any of that get to him, completely brush it over his shoulder and hopefully let his boxing do the talking.”