American super middleweight Caleb Plant has laid blame on Canelo Alvarez for the '11th hour' collapse of negotiations for their undisputed world title fight in September.
'Sweet Hands' was set to fight the sport's leading star in Las Vegas in a PBC on Fox pay-per-view, but talks have reportedly been broken off after weeks of negotiations due to unhappiness at the terms of the contract.
And the undefeated star has now criticised the Mexican for his role in the breakdown, questioning the multi-weight world champion's motivation in the sport.
"Canelo was offered the highest guarantee of his career, he was set to make $40 million plus Mexican TV rights and his Hennessy Sponsorship," Plant told ESPN.
"No problem, let's fight. We gave it to him, then they wanted upside of gate and PPV revenue; no problem, let's rumble.
"It was always agreed that it was a [title] unification; no rematch for either fighter.
"Towards the end of negotiations they asked for a rematch when they lose, no problem, you can have the rematch as well, I just wanna fight.
"I question whether legacy or money is their real motive."
Plant defeated Caleb Truax in his last fight to retain his belt, and has been frequently linked with a bout against Canelo, who has just defeated Briton Billy Joe Saunders in his last contest to add the WBO super middleweight belt to his previous collection of WBC and WBA world titles.
Alvarez has also had an extremely active past year despite the ongoing concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, defeating the likes of Callum Smith and Avni Yildirim since December 2020.
But his potential opponent Plant is keen to not 'waste any more time' in negotiations for the fight and to give the pair the undisputed title shot that they both deserve.
"We're at seven-and-a-half weeks from the fight; we've lost valuable time that should be spent promoting and drug testing for a fight of this magnitude," Plant continued.
"We've been waiting for him to get done with his wedding, shooting his TV show, his golf tournament and now have tried to give him everything he wants and more to make this fight.
"I'm more than willing, able and ready to fight Canelo Alvarez on any date.
"Those are the real facts and if anyone has something to say differently, we have the paperwork to prove it."
Reports have suggested since that talks could be revisited in the coming weeks despite the initial stumbling blocks, with the Mexican unified champion keen to resume his tradition and compete on his native Independence Day weekend.
YouTube star Jake Paul has previously offered to fight Canelo Alvarez within the next three years as he looks to try and launch an assault on the champion, who he has previously had verbal disagreements with.
Alvarez's former opponent Billy Joe Saunders is set to return to the ring despite the severe injury he suffered in their bout in May with trainer Ben Davison expecting the Briton to 'come back all guns blazing'.
