Billy Joe Saunders Wants Big Fights and Canelo!
UK middleweight “Superb” Billy Joe Saunders was just the focus of a plethora of headlines due to his recent relocating to Matchroom Boxing. Prior to the move, the slick fighter had made a longtime cozy home with Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions. There was no bad blood or irreconcilable discord that led to his exodus from Warren’s stable.
Instead, it was simply a matter of going to where the big fights could be made. If he could have secured those matches with Queensberry, Saunders would have happily stayed. However, time and experience have taught Saunders that had he remained, the mega-fights were never going to come his way.
Therefore as they say, it was merely a matter of business. Both Frank Warren and Billie Joe Saunders have publiclly stated that there is no animosity or ill-will since the split. Each have warmly wished the other well.
Now that he has set up shop with Matchroom, Saunders wasted little time in expressing he would love to face the Mexican star Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. He views Canelo as a top level competitor, although, he feels his own capabilities would be more than enough to dethrone the lucrative boxing money machine. This sentiment shared before he feels that Alvarez began showing signs of wear and tear.
“Obviously, he’s the biggest name, but styles make fights and we see when he boxed Lara he had all sorts of trouble, and I believe that technically my mindset is a lot better than Lara. I thought that Lara nicked that fight and back then and Canelo was more in his prime.
“Now, in all these training camps, you see him training with all these knee supports. You know, these elbow supports and all that. He’s a brilliant fighter. I’m not trying to take anything away from him. I’m not talking down to him but I wouldn’t be sitting here if I couldn’t believe I could beat him.”
It’s rather unsurprising that Saunders would call out Canelo. Now that he is with Matchroom himself, and Alvarez v Saunders bout is essentially an in-house fight, as both will be fighting under the DAZN umbrella, even though technically they have separate promoters. In addition, Canelo would undoubtedly represent Superb’s biggest payday to date.
At the moment though, Canelo has publicly indicated that he is waiting on the outcome of the Kovalev v Yarde fight. Why Alvarez is suddenly so obsessed with Sergey Kovalev, who resides two weight classes north is anyone’s guess.
It’s a fight that no one had previously imagined before Team Alvarez mentioned it a few weeks ago. Sadly, Canelo has more than enough relevant, belt holding opposition in his own backyard to take care of that he is doggedly neglecting.
Numerous fans would love to see Alvarez unify with WBO world middleweight champion Demetrius “Boo-Boo” Andrade or WBC world middleweight champion Jermall Charlo. He is already on record saying he wanted to become undisputed champion this year.
Furthermore, there is a strong argument that he’s been ducking Andrade for years across two divisions. There was brief scuttlebutt suggesting that Alvarez recently was trying to put a fight together with Boo-Boo. Yet, at this point, it looks like that was all smoke and mirrors.
So presently, it safe to assume Saunders will have to wait his turn for Canelo. Yet, if his wait is anything like Andrade’s, he definitely should not hold his breath!
By: Bakari Simpson
