Billy Joe Saunders suffered multiple fractures in his cheek bone in his knockout loss to Canelo Alvarez on Saturday and was scheduled to have surgery on Sunday night, according to promoter Eddie Hearn.
The injury occurred when Alvarez landed a right uppercut to Saunders’ right eye in the eighth round of their title-unification bout at a packed AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The British fighter couldn’t come out for Round 9.
The bone that was broken is part of the eye socket.
Saunders was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, which is near the Dallas Cowboys’ home stadium. He had surgery there, Hearn said.
“He’s going to be out for a long, long time,” Hearn told The Athletic.
Saunders (30-1, 14 KOs) had been competitive with Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KOs) until the decisive punch, although he was losing on all three scorecards at the time of the stoppage.
Alvarez, who entered the fight with the WBA and WBC 168-pound belts added Saunders’ WBO title to his collection. He’s expected to fight IBF champ Caleb Plant in September in a bid to become the first undisputed champion in the division.
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