Category: Canelo Alvarez vs. Billy Joe Saunders

Billy Joe Saunders update: multiple fractures, required surgery

Billy Joe Saunders reportedly suffered multiple fractures in his cheek bone against Canelo Alvarez on Saturday and was set to have surgery.

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.

[lawrence-related id=20167,20163,20159,20110]

Billy Joe Saunders update: multiple fractures, required surgery

Billy Joe Saunders reportedly suffered multiple fractures in his cheek bone against Canelo Alvarez on Saturday and was set to have surgery.

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.

[lawrence-related id=20167,20163,20159,20110]

Good, bad, worse: Canelo Alvarez gets the job done once again

Good, bad, worse: Canelo Alvarez got the job done once again against Billy Joe Saunders on Saturday.

A critical look at the past week in boxing

GOOD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsvPp0RahHA

We can be critical of Canelo Alvarez’s performance against Billy Joe Saunders before 73,126 Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The Mexican star had his hand raised, as almost everyone expected, but Saunders’ pre-fight bravado wasn’t all talk. There was some substance to it. He trailed on the cards – 78-74, 78-74 and 77-75 – at the time the fight was stopped but he was competitive, which was surprising to many.

Alvarez actually seemed frustrated as late as the seventh round, when the British southpaw was at his most effective. The result was still up in the air at that point.

This was the great Canelo Alvarez? Struggling with a fighter who is capable but can’t punch with much authority?

I believe it’s legitimate to point out all of the above. This must be said too, though: Alvarez broke Saunders’ face with a single punch – a right uppercut to the right eye — and stopped him after eight rounds, the latter of which he predicted.

Alvarez said multiple times beforehand that he would have problems against Saunders in the early rounds but by the middle of the fight he would begin to take control.

That what’s he did. He brutally knocked out an experienced, world-class opponent to unify three of the four major super middleweight titles, which should lead to a showdown with Caleb Plant for the fourth belt around Mexican Independence Day in September.

“I said the fight was going to develop in the seventh, eighth round and that’s what happened,” Alvarez said through a translator. “It wasn’t as difficult as I expected. That’s because my preparation was good. And I improve every day.

“… I started getting adjusted real quick. I knew this was going to be the final outcome.”

All in all, he had a good night.

[lawrence-related id=20163,20159,20110]

***

BAD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAFGSP1mvFw

You have to feel for Saunders.

The British champion gave Alvarez a tougher fight than almost anyone expected only to have his dream dashed as a result of an unfortunate eye-socket injury, which made it next-to-impossible to continue.

The judges had Alvarez ahead on the scorecards at the time of the stoppage but Saunders was in the fight and seemed to be building momentum before the injury. He had a chance to win. Then it was over. He couldn’t continue fighting, he suffered the first loss of his career and his 168-pound title was gone.

It’s no wonder he looked devasted after the fight.

Saunders has reason to be proud, though. He was competitive against the fighter many believe is No. 1 pound-for-pound in the world, which few others have been able to do.

Floyd Mayweather is the only one to have beaten Alvarez while Gennadiy Golovkin (SD draw and MD), Erislandy Lara (SD), Daniel Jacobs (UD) and even Sergey Kovalev (KO 11) fought him on roughly even terms before coming up short in the end.

Saunders arguably joins that latter group. At the very least, he was far more competitive than the previous six British fighters who faced Alvarez. All of them were blown out in one way or another.

And, at 31, Saunders is still young. He might never again have the opportunity to face a pound-for-pounder in front of 70,000-plus screaming fans, as he did on Saturday, but he’s far from finished. He’ll be in more big fights in the near future, assuming that’s what he wants.

Saunders obviously is in pain right now, both physically and emotionally. The wounds will heal, though. And he’ll be a more-respected fighter as a result of his performance on Saturday night.

***

WORSE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bWRuu3UNZ0

Katsunari Takayama gave an inspirational performance on the Alvarez-Saunders card. Veteran referee Laurence Cole, who worked Takayama’s fight against 108-pound titleholder Elwin Soto, was not at his best.

Takayama (32-9, 12 KOs) was a great story coming into the fight. The 37-year-old former three-time strawweight champ from Japan was fighting for the second time after a four-year hiatus from the sport and took the fight on short notice, which would’ve made a title-winning victory remarkable.

And he gave himself a chance to pull it off, fighting with unusual energy and spirit against a much stronger opponent. Soto (19-1, 13 KOs) landed many clean, hard punches but Takayama took them and was the much busier of the two. He clearly was in the fight until the moment it was stopped.

In the ninth and final round, with Soto winning on the cards, the champion continued to land damaging blows but Takayama continued to fight back. Still, out of nowhere, Cole jumped in and stopped the fight at 2:44 of the round, raising the ire of many in the process.

I don’t want to be overly critical of a referee who was looking out for the best interest of a fighter but, frankly, Cole blew it. Takayama hadn’t been down and was firing back at Soto when Cole stepped in.

Plus, Takayama was a proud former champion in possibly his final title fight. He deserved more of a chance than Cole gave him to work his way out of trouble, if that’s what that was.

Immediately after the fight was stopped, Takayama, who accepted his fate graciously, shadow boxed in the ring with great vitality as if to demonstrate that he had plenty left in the tank. I wondered whether Cole, who watched Takayama, was thinking at that moment: “Man, he’s making me look bad right now.”

Indeed, he was. Cole should’ve allowed the fight to continue.

[lawrence-related id=20099]

***

RABBIT PUNCHES

Saunders could’ve continued fighting. Countless others have fought through significant injuries, including those to the eye area. But we should use common sense here. Mark Tibbs, Saunders’ trainer, said his fighter’s face was “caved in” and that he couldn’t see. Would it really have been wise to continue exchanging punches with a beast like Alvarez? Saunders’ courage would’ve been applauded but he would’ve risked long term damage or possibly even his life – as Alvarez said – had he come out for the ninth round. That would be asking to much. … I had Alvarez leading Saunders 78-74 – six rounds to two – at the time of the stoppage. Some experts I respect had Saunders ahead, which has me scratching my head. Saunders was busier than Alvarez but half the punches he landed were jabs and his power punches had little effect, although he did better in that regard in the last few rounds. Alvarez obviously landed the cleaner, harder shots. I thought Alvarez clearly won Rounds 2, 3 and 8, which means Saunders would have to had to win the remaining rounds to lead on the cards. That doesn’t add up to me. … Alvarez was unusually animated when middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade showed up at the post-fight news conference to call him out, telling Andrade in English more than once to “get the f— out of here.” I appreciated Alvarez passion but I was disappointed at his repeated use of expletives. I thought he was classier than that.

I’m completely baffled by the scoring of the Souleymane Cissokho–Kieron Conway fight on the Alvarez-Saunders card. I thought the Cissokho (13-0, 8 KOs) thoroughly outboxed Conway (16-2-1, 3 KOs), with a ninth-round knockdown his only significant slip-up. Conway was the aggressor but he landed few punches. That’s why I scored it 98-91 (nine rounds to one) for the Frenchman. The judges? They gave Cissokho a split-decision victory, 96-93, 95-94 and 92-97. I guess Conway could’ve been given one or two more rounds because he pushed the action but 97-92? Judge Don Griffin’s score was outrageous. … Speaking of outrageous, Nagy Aguilera’s actions in his fight against heavyweight contender Frank Sanchez (18-0, 13 KOs) on the Alvarez-Saunders card were suspect. Sanchez, who was in control of the fight, threw a right hand that slid off of Aguilera’s left shoulder and grazed his head. After a few moments he suddenly grabbed his head, fell to the canvas, got up, fell again and then got to his feet once more in a circus-like series of events. He began to complain that the former Cuban amateur star had been punching him behind the head throughout the fight. It seemed to me that Aguilera (21-11, 14 KOs) was looking for a way out of the fight and found it. Sanchez won a shutout technical decision.

[lawrence-related id=20099,20102,20096]

Good, bad, worse: Canelo Alvarez gets the job done once again

Good, bad, worse: Canelo Alvarez got the job done once again against Billy Joe Saunders on Saturday.

A critical look at the past week in boxing

GOOD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsvPp0RahHA

We can be critical of Canelo Alvarez’s performance against Billy Joe Saunders before 73,126 Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The Mexican star had his hand raised, as almost everyone expected, but Saunders’ pre-fight bravado wasn’t all talk. There was some substance to it. He trailed on the cards – 78-74, 78-74 and 77-75 – at the time the fight was stopped but he was competitive, which was surprising to many.

Alvarez actually seemed frustrated as late as the seventh round, when the British southpaw was at his most effective. The result was still up in the air at that point.

This was the great Canelo Alvarez? Struggling with a fighter who is capable but can’t punch with much authority?

I believe it’s legitimate to point out all of the above. This must be said too, though: Alvarez broke Saunders’ face with a single punch – a right uppercut to the right eye — and stopped him after eight rounds, the latter of which he predicted.

Alvarez said multiple times beforehand that he would have problems against Saunders in the early rounds but by the middle of the fight he would begin to take control.

That what’s he did. He brutally knocked out an experienced, world-class opponent to unify three of the four major super middleweight titles, which should lead to a showdown with Caleb Plant for the fourth belt around Mexican Independence Day in September.

“I said the fight was going to develop in the seventh, eighth round and that’s what happened,” Alvarez said through a translator. “It wasn’t as difficult as I expected. That’s because my preparation was good. And I improve every day.

“… I started getting adjusted real quick. I knew this was going to be the final outcome.”

All in all, he had a good night.

[lawrence-related id=20163,20159,20110]

***

BAD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAFGSP1mvFw

You have to feel for Saunders.

The British champion gave Alvarez a tougher fight than almost anyone expected only to have his dream dashed as a result of an unfortunate eye-socket injury, which made it next-to-impossible to continue.

The judges had Alvarez ahead on the scorecards at the time of the stoppage but Saunders was in the fight and seemed to be building momentum before the injury. He had a chance to win. Then it was over. He couldn’t continue fighting, he suffered the first loss of his career and his 168-pound title was gone.

It’s no wonder he looked devasted after the fight.

Saunders has reason to be proud, though. He was competitive against the fighter many believe is No. 1 pound-for-pound in the world, which few others have been able to do.

Floyd Mayweather is the only one to have beaten Alvarez while Gennadiy Golovkin (SD draw and MD), Erislandy Lara (SD), Daniel Jacobs (UD) and even Sergey Kovalev (KO 11) fought him on roughly even terms before coming up short in the end.

Saunders arguably joins that latter group. At the very least, he was far more competitive than the previous six British fighters who faced Alvarez. All of them were blown out in one way or another.

And, at 31, Saunders is still young. He might never again have the opportunity to face a pound-for-pounder in front of 70,000-plus screaming fans, as he did on Saturday, but he’s far from finished. He’ll be in more big fights in the near future, assuming that’s what he wants.

Saunders obviously is in pain right now, both physically and emotionally. The wounds will heal, though. And he’ll be a more-respected fighter as a result of his performance on Saturday night.

***

WORSE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bWRuu3UNZ0

Katsunari Takayama gave an inspirational performance on the Alvarez-Saunders card. Veteran referee Laurence Cole, who worked Takayama’s fight against 108-pound titleholder Elwin Soto, was not at his best.

Takayama (32-9, 12 KOs) was a great story coming into the fight. The 37-year-old former three-time strawweight champ from Japan was fighting for the second time after a four-year hiatus from the sport and took the fight on short notice, which would’ve made a title-winning victory remarkable.

And he gave himself a chance to pull it off, fighting with unusual energy and spirit against a much stronger opponent. Soto (19-1, 13 KOs) landed many clean, hard punches but Takayama took them and was the much busier of the two. He clearly was in the fight until the moment it was stopped.

In the ninth and final round, with Soto winning on the cards, the champion continued to land damaging blows but Takayama continued to fight back. Still, out of nowhere, Cole jumped in and stopped the fight at 2:44 of the round, raising the ire of many in the process.

I don’t want to be overly critical of a referee who was looking out for the best interest of a fighter but, frankly, Cole blew it. Takayama hadn’t been down and was firing back at Soto when Cole stepped in.

Plus, Takayama was a proud former champion in possibly his final title fight. He deserved more of a chance than Cole gave him to work his way out of trouble, if that’s what that was.

Immediately after the fight was stopped, Takayama, who accepted his fate graciously, shadow boxed in the ring with great vitality as if to demonstrate that he had plenty left in the tank. I wondered whether Cole, who watched Takayama, was thinking at that moment: “Man, he’s making me look bad right now.”

Indeed, he was. Cole should’ve allowed the fight to continue.

[lawrence-related id=20099]

***

RABBIT PUNCHES

Saunders could’ve continued fighting. Countless others have fought through significant injuries, including those to the eye area. But we should use common sense here. Mark Tibbs, Saunders’ trainer, said his fighter’s face was “caved in” and that he couldn’t see. Would it really have been wise to continue exchanging punches with a beast like Alvarez? Saunders’ courage would’ve been applauded but he would’ve risked long term damage or possibly even his life – as Alvarez said – had he come out for the ninth round. That would be asking to much. … I had Alvarez leading Saunders 78-74 – six rounds to two – at the time of the stoppage. Some experts I respect had Saunders ahead, which has me scratching my head. Saunders was busier than Alvarez but half the punches he landed were jabs and his power punches had little effect, although he did better in that regard in the last few rounds. Alvarez obviously landed the cleaner, harder shots. I thought Alvarez clearly won Rounds 2, 3 and 8, which means Saunders would have to had to win the remaining rounds to lead on the cards. That doesn’t add up to me. … Alvarez was unusually animated when middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade showed up at the post-fight news conference to call him out, telling Andrade in English more than once to “get the f— out of here.” I appreciated Alvarez passion but I was disappointed at his repeated use of expletives. I thought he was classier than that.

I’m completely baffled by the scoring of the Souleymane Cissokho–Kieron Conway fight on the Alvarez-Saunders card. I thought the Cissokho (13-0, 8 KOs) thoroughly outboxed Conway (16-2-1, 3 KOs), with a ninth-round knockdown his only significant slip-up. Conway was the aggressor but he landed few punches. That’s why I scored it 98-91 (nine rounds to one) for the Frenchman. The judges? They gave Cissokho a split-decision victory, 96-93, 95-94 and 92-97. I guess Conway could’ve been given one or two more rounds because he pushed the action but 97-92? Judge Don Griffin’s score was outrageous. … Speaking of outrageous, Nagy Aguilera’s actions in his fight against heavyweight contender Frank Sanchez (18-0, 13 KOs) on the Alvarez-Saunders card were suspect. Sanchez, who was in control of the fight, threw a right hand that slid off of Aguilera’s left shoulder and grazed his head. After a few moments he suddenly grabbed his head, fell to the canvas, got up, fell again and then got to his feet once more in a circus-like series of events. He began to complain that the former Cuban amateur star had been punching him behind the head throughout the fight. It seemed to me that Aguilera (21-11, 14 KOs) was looking for a way out of the fight and found it. Sanchez won a shutout technical decision.

[lawrence-related id=20099,20102,20096]

Canelo Alvarez’s free agency boosts chances of fight with Caleb Plant: Hearn

Canelo Alvarez’s free agency boosts the chances of making a fight with Caleb Plant, according to promoter Eddie Hearn.

The fact Canelo Alvarez isn’t tied contractually to a television network could be the key in making a deal to fight Caleb Plant.

That’s the opinion of promoter Eddie Hearn, who was optimistic after Alvarez’s eighth-round stoppage of Billy Joe Saunders on Saturday night that Alvarez will meet Plant for the undisputed 168-pound championship in September.

The Saunders fight was Alvarez’s second in a two-fight deal with DAZN, meaning he’s now a free agent. Plant is managed by Premier Boxing Champions, which is affiliated with Fox and Showtime.

Alvarez, the WBA, WBC and WBO beltholder, wants to fight IBF champ to unify all four major titles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqwEGzo20y4

“It’s not complicated,” said Hearn, who partners with DAZN. “It’s the beauty of Canelo’s decision to be a network free agent. It stops politics, it stops anything from getting in the way. The numbers on DAZN tonight were absolutely astronomical. They’ll (DAZN) have to make a huge offer for that fight. Fox will make a huge offer for that fight.

“He’s free to make the fights he wants to make where he where he wants them to happen. To me it’s a very straight-forward process. And I think the process should start immediately.”

Alvarez said immediately after the fight and then again at the post-fight news conference that he’s targeting Plant, who also has expressed interest in the fight.

“Right now I’m really happy with what I achieved and I want to celebrate with my family,” Alvarez said. “… You already know what I want. Hopefully we can get that going so I can unify the titles.”

And if that fight can’t be made for whatever reason?

“If it doesn’t happen, then we can continue to make history in other ways,” he said. “Right now, that’s my goal. Hopefully we can continue to work for that.”

Canelo Alvarez’s free agency boosts chances of fight with Caleb Plant: Hearn

Canelo Alvarez’s free agency boosts the chances of making a fight with Caleb Plant, according to promoter Eddie Hearn.

The fact Canelo Alvarez isn’t tied contractually to a television network could be the key in making a deal to fight Caleb Plant.

That’s the opinion of promoter Eddie Hearn, who was optimistic after Alvarez’s eighth-round stoppage of Billy Joe Saunders on Saturday night that Alvarez will meet Plant for the undisputed 168-pound championship in September.

The Saunders fight was Alvarez’s second in a two-fight deal with DAZN, meaning he’s now a free agent. Plant is managed by Premier Boxing Champions, which is affiliated with Fox and Showtime.

Alvarez, the WBA, WBC and WBO beltholder, wants to fight IBF champ to unify all four major titles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqwEGzo20y4

“It’s not complicated,” said Hearn, who partners with DAZN. “It’s the beauty of Canelo’s decision to be a network free agent. It stops politics, it stops anything from getting in the way. The numbers on DAZN tonight were absolutely astronomical. They’ll (DAZN) have to make a huge offer for that fight. Fox will make a huge offer for that fight.

“He’s free to make the fights he wants to make where he where he wants them to happen. To me it’s a very straight-forward process. And I think the process should start immediately.”

Alvarez said immediately after the fight and then again at the post-fight news conference that he’s targeting Plant, who also has expressed interest in the fight.

“Right now I’m really happy with what I achieved and I want to celebrate with my family,” Alvarez said. “… You already know what I want. Hopefully we can get that going so I can unify the titles.”

And if that fight can’t be made for whatever reason?

“If it doesn’t happen, then we can continue to make history in other ways,” he said. “Right now, that’s my goal. Hopefully we can continue to work for that.”

Canelo Alvarez: Billy Joe Saunders would’ve risked life had he continued

Canelo Alvarez: Billy Joe Saunders would’ve risked his life had he continued with his facial injury.

Canelo Alvarez said that Billy Joe Saunders had no choice but to remain on his stool after the eighth round Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The super middleweight tilteholders were engaged in a competitive fight when Alvarez injured Saunders’ right eye socket with a right uppercut in Round 8, which prompted the British fighter’s trainer to stop the fight before the start of Round 9.

Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KOs) said he wasn’t surprised by that decision.

“It’s hard because I saw … he broke his cheek bone,” the Mexican star said through a translator at the post-fight news conference. “I went back to the corner and told [trainer] Eddy [Reynoso] that I didn’t think he could continue. When you break your cheek bone, you risk your life. You can’t continue that way.”

Alvarez (right) injured Saunders right eye with an uppercut in Round 8 and maintained his assault. Jerome Miron / USA TODAY Sports

Saunders’ trainer, Mark Tibbs, said that his fighter’s face was “caved in” and he couldn’t see properly out of the eye, which made his decision an easy one even though Saunders had been boxing well before he was injured.

Tibbs was interviewed by Behind the Gloves.

“His eye socket was caved in and he couldn’t see,” he said. “I didn’t get the response I wanted from him. Tough business, this business. It was frustrating, really, because I felt he was growing into it.”

“… I love Billy Joe like a brother. I know his mum, I know his ad. I’ve known him for a long while. We’ll live to fight another day.”

Tibbs made it clear that decision to end the fight was his, not Saunders’.

“He never said, ‘No, that’s it.’ He left it to me,” he said. “… He took it well. He was in pain. The eye socket was gone. He was in pain. He gave it his best shot. He got injured, his leading eye, against the pound-for-pound great. He’s done himself proud.”

Alvarez was leading on all three scorecards after eight rounds, 78-74, 78-74 and 77-75. Boxing Junkie also had Alvarez leading 78-74, six rounds to two. Some boxing experts had Saunders ahead at the time the fight was stopped.

Alvarez, who entered the fight as the WBA and WBC titleholder, added Saunders’ WBO belt to his collection. He wants to fight IBF champ Caleb Plant next in an attempt to win all four major titles.

[lawrence-related id=20110,20099,20102,20096]

 

Canelo Alvarez: Billy Joe Saunders would’ve risked life had he continued

Canelo Alvarez: Billy Joe Saunders would’ve risked his life had he continued with his facial injury.

Canelo Alvarez said that Billy Joe Saunders had no choice but to remain on his stool after the eighth round Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The super middleweight tilteholders were engaged in a competitive fight when Alvarez injured Saunders’ right eye socket with a right uppercut in Round 8, which prompted the British fighter’s trainer to stop the fight before the start of Round 9.

Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KOs) said he wasn’t surprised by that decision.

“It’s hard because I saw … he broke his cheek bone,” the Mexican star said through a translator at the post-fight news conference. “I went back to the corner and told [trainer] Eddy [Reynoso] that I didn’t think he could continue. When you break your cheek bone, you risk your life. You can’t continue that way.”

Alvarez (right) injured Saunders right eye with an uppercut in Round 8 and maintained his assault. Jerome Miron / USA TODAY Sports

Saunders’ trainer, Mark Tibbs, said that his fighter’s face was “caved in” and he couldn’t see properly out of the eye, which made his decision an easy one even though Saunders had been boxing well before he was injured.

Tibbs was interviewed by Behind the Gloves.

“His eye socket was caved in and he couldn’t see,” he said. “I didn’t get the response I wanted from him. Tough business, this business. It was frustrating, really, because I felt he was growing into it.”

“… I love Billy Joe like a brother. I know his mum, I know his ad. I’ve known him for a long while. We’ll live to fight another day.”

Tibbs made it clear that decision to end the fight was his, not Saunders’.

“He never said, ‘No, that’s it.’ He left it to me,” he said. “… He took it well. He was in pain. The eye socket was gone. He was in pain. He gave it his best shot. He got injured, his leading eye, against the pound-for-pound great. He’s done himself proud.”

Alvarez was leading on all three scorecards after eight rounds, 78-74, 78-74 and 77-75. Boxing Junkie also had Alvarez leading 78-74, six rounds to two. Some boxing experts had Saunders ahead at the time the fight was stopped.

Alvarez, who entered the fight as the WBA and WBC titleholder, added Saunders’ WBO belt to his collection. He wants to fight IBF champ Caleb Plant next in an attempt to win all four major titles.

[lawrence-related id=20110,20099,20102,20096]

 

Canelo Alvarez tested by Billy Joe Saunders but stops him after eight

Canelo Alvarez received resistance from Billy Joe Saunders but the Mexican star stopped his British counterpart after eight rounds Saturday.

More-competitive fight than expected. Familiar result.

Billy Joe Saunders frustrated Canelo Alvarez for much of their title-unification fight Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, raising the possibility of what would have been a monumental upset.

Then, in a moment, the fight was effectively over. Alvarez injured Saunders’ eye with a right uppercut in Round 8 and the Brit, unable to continue, didn’t come out for Round 9.

Thus, Alvarez claimed three of the four major super middleweight titles, which means Caleb Plant – who owns the fourth – could be next.

“I said the fight was going to develop in the seventh, eighth round and that’s what happened,” Alvarez said through a translator. “It wasn’t as difficult as I expected. That’s because my preparation was good. And I improve every day.

“… I started getting adjusted real quick. I knew this was going to be the final outcome.”

A reported 73,126 filled the Dallas Cowboys’ home stadium, which is a record for an indoor venue. However, the magnitude of the event didn’t seem to faze Saunders.

The now-former WBO 168-pound titleholder boxed with confidence from the outset, flicking his right jab, landing more and more left hands as the fight went on and using his feet to avoid many of Alvarez’s punches.

The problem for Saunders (30-1, 14 KOs) is that he couldn’t avoid them all. Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KOs) landed the cleaner, harder shots, particularly to the body. Saunders shook his head multiple times, an indication that he wasn’t hurt, but the punches were heavy.

That’s why all three judges had the Mexican star leading after eight rounds, 78-74, 78-74 and 77-75. Boxing Junkie also had it 78-74, six rounds to two in favor of Alvarez.

Here’s the thing, though: 7½ rounds into the fight Saunders was essentially fighting on even terms with arguably the No. 1 boxer in the world. He was definitely in the fight at that point.

Then everything changed. The right uppercut landed on Saunders’ right eye, which swelled up immediately. He survived the rest of Round 8 – mostly by moving and holding – but he clearly was hurt.

He told his trainer, Mark Tibbs, that he couldn’t see and Tibbs instructed referee Mark Calo-oy to stop the fight. Saunders’ right orbital bone might’ve been broken.

“The truth is I knew it,” Alvarez said. “I think I broke his cheek. I knew he wasn’t going to come out. I told [trainer] Eddy [Reynoso], he’s not coming out because I broke his cheek. And that was it.”

Alvarez, who know holds the WBA, WBC and WBO belts, has stated that his goal is to become undisputed 168-pound champion. Now, for that to happen, he must fight and beat IBF champ Caleb Plant in September.

Plant has said he also wants the fight, which is half the battle. However, he and Alvarez are aligned with competing outlets. Plant is with Premier Boxing Champions, Alvarez with DAZN.

Still, he and promoter Eddie Hearn were optimistic after the fight.

“That’s the plan. I’m coming, my friend,” Alvarez said, speaking directly to Plant. “… I hope it can be made easily, to give the fans that fight, and become the first [undisputed] Mexican champion in history.”

Said Hearn: “Ultimately, Canelo Alvarez will fight absolutely anybody. You know who he wants to fight, he’s told me who he wants to fight, Caleb Plant. … That’s the fight that must happen for boxing, the undisputed championship at 168 pounds. And it’s the must-make fight next.

“What’s Caleb Plant going to do?”

Canelo Alvarez tested by Billy Joe Saunders but stops him after eight

Canelo Alvarez received resistance from Billy Joe Saunders but the Mexican star stopped his British counterpart after eight rounds Saturday.

More-competitive fight than expected. Familiar result.

Billy Joe Saunders frustrated Canelo Alvarez for much of their title-unification fight Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, raising the possibility of what would have been a monumental upset.

Then, in a moment, the fight was effectively over. Alvarez injured Saunders’ eye with a right uppercut in Round 8 and the Brit, unable to continue, didn’t come out for Round 9.

Thus, Alvarez claimed three of the four major super middleweight titles, which means Caleb Plant – who owns the fourth – could be next.

“I said the fight was going to develop in the seventh, eighth round and that’s what happened,” Alvarez said through a translator. “It wasn’t as difficult as I expected. That’s because my preparation was good. And I improve every day.

“… I started getting adjusted real quick. I knew this was going to be the final outcome.”

A reported 73,126 filled the Dallas Cowboys’ home stadium, which is a record for an indoor venue. However, the magnitude of the event didn’t seem to faze Saunders.

The now-former WBO 168-pound titleholder boxed with confidence from the outset, flicking his right jab, landing more and more left hands as the fight went on and using his feet to avoid many of Alvarez’s punches.

The problem for Saunders (30-1, 14 KOs) is that he couldn’t avoid them all. Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KOs) landed the cleaner, harder shots, particularly to the body. Saunders shook his head multiple times, an indication that he wasn’t hurt, but the punches were heavy.

That’s why all three judges had the Mexican star leading after eight rounds, 78-74, 78-74 and 77-75. Boxing Junkie also had it 78-74, six rounds to two in favor of Alvarez.

Here’s the thing, though: 7½ rounds into the fight Saunders was essentially fighting on even terms with arguably the No. 1 boxer in the world. He was definitely in the fight at that point.

Then everything changed. The right uppercut landed on Saunders’ right eye, which swelled up immediately. He survived the rest of Round 8 – mostly by moving and holding – but he clearly was hurt.

He told his trainer, Mark Tibbs, that he couldn’t see and Tibbs instructed referee Mark Calo-oy to stop the fight. Saunders’ right orbital bone might’ve been broken.

“The truth is I knew it,” Alvarez said. “I think I broke his cheek. I knew he wasn’t going to come out. I told [trainer] Eddy [Reynoso], he’s not coming out because I broke his cheek. And that was it.”

Alvarez, who know holds the WBA, WBC and WBO belts, has stated that his goal is to become undisputed 168-pound champion. Now, for that to happen, he must fight and beat IBF champ Caleb Plant in September.

Plant has said he also wants the fight, which is half the battle. However, he and Alvarez are aligned with competing outlets. Plant is with Premier Boxing Champions, Alvarez with DAZN.

Still, he and promoter Eddie Hearn were optimistic after the fight.

“That’s the plan. I’m coming, my friend,” Alvarez said, speaking directly to Plant. “… I hope it can be made easily, to give the fans that fight, and become the first [undisputed] Mexican champion in history.”

Said Hearn: “Ultimately, Canelo Alvarez will fight absolutely anybody. You know who he wants to fight, he’s told me who he wants to fight, Caleb Plant. … That’s the fight that must happen for boxing, the undisputed championship at 168 pounds. And it’s the must-make fight next.

“What’s Caleb Plant going to do?”