Tag: billy joe saunders

Canelo Alvarez says he likes idea of fighting overseas

Canelo Alvarez told DAZN during Ruiz-Joshua II that he would be willing fight in Saudi Arabia, England or Japan in the near future.

Boxing’s biggest cash cow may be taking his show on the road.

Two-division titleholder Canelo Alvarez was in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia to support countryman Andy Ruiz Jr. in his highly anticipated heavyweight rematch against Anthony Joshua, who wound up winning a wide decision to regain his heavyweight titles.

Alvarez, who is coming off a 11th round knockout of Sergey Kovalev to win a light heavyweight title, gave an interview during the DAZN broadcast discussing his plans. He, for one, is not opposed to staging his next fight in the Arabian desert.

“Of course, why not?” Alvarez said. “It’s an excellent opportunity. Of course, I can see myself fighting anywhere in the world.”

Alvarez has fought exclusively in North America, with the majority of his fights taking place in Las Vegas. He has also fought in San Antonio and New York City.

Alvarez continued: “I can see myself fighting here (Saudi Arabia), fighting in Japan, in England. Believe me, this is something. What a moment it would be for my career to fight anywhere in the world for the right opportunity.”

In Japan, Alvarez has a potentially lucrative matchup against domestic middleweight star Ryota Murata. Previously, there were talks about Alvarez’s arch-nemesis Gennadiy Golovkin facing Murata at the Tokyo Dome but nothing ever materialized. An Alvarez-Murata fight would be even bigger.

In England, there are options with super middleweights Callum Smith and Billy Joe Saunders, although the former is probably a more marketable fight. Smith’s brain trust have been vocal about facing Alvarez.

 

Chris Eubank Jr. seeks new horizons in United States

Chris Eubank Jr. will make his U.S. debut against middleweight southpaw Matvey Korobov on the undercard of Charlo-Hogan this Saturday.

Chris Eubank Jr. knows that there is only so much he can do to further build on his family name back home in England. Here in America, though? The possibilities seem endless.

“My goal is to make a name for myself in the U.S. and broaden our horizons,” Eubank, the son of former two-division titleholder Chris Eubank Sr., said during a media workout today in Brooklyn. “The fight fans here have known me for a while, but I want to break out past that.”

The 30-year-old Eubank takes his first step in that direction against Matvey Korobov this Saturday at the Barclays Center on the undercard of the middleweight title fight between Jermall Charlo and Dennis Hogan.

“This is a great starting fight for me in the U.S. We’re aiming to make our own history,” Eubank said. “I’ve done so much in England, and I feel like this is the right time to expose myself to the American public.”

Chris Eubank Jr. came to the U.S. to conquer new territories. Stephanie Trapp / Showtime

Eubank (28-2, 21 knockouts) is coming off a career-best win over former super middleweight titleholder and compatriot James DeGale last February. Eubank battered the shopworn DeGale over 12 rounds en route to a unanimous-decision win. He also participated in the World Boxing Super series 168-pound tournament, defeating Avni Yildirim by third-round knockout but dropping a decision to George Groves, another domestic rival.

Eubank suffered his other loss early in his career against Billy Joe Saunders, which is to say that he has pretty much exhausted all the major fights in his native U.K. Hence, his focus on the U.S. scene.

“I’ve been dreaming about coming here and fighting in the U.S. since I was a kid,” he said. “You dream about fighting where all your favorite fighters came to perform on the big stage. To do it here in New York is special. It’s an iconic place, and so many great world champions have come from here.”

Against Korobov, Eubank will face a skilled southpaw who gave 160-pound titleholder Charlo all he could handle last year. Some observers believe Korobov did enough to eke out a decision. One possible factor in Eubank’s favor is that he will be fighting at his natural weight for the first time in several years.

“I’m not a true super middleweight, so I’m excited to be fighting at 160 pounds. I’m going to be a beast,” Eubank said. “I’m going to be an absolute savage. The power and the speed is going to really shine through against guys my own size.”

Should he get past Korobov on Saturday, Eubank has his sights set any of the middleweight titleholders, including one of Saturday’s main-eventers.

“Anyone with a belt in the middleweight division, I’m coming for them,” Eubank said. “If that means Charlo, I’ll be more than happy to get in there with him.”

 

Canelo Alvarez trainer Eddy Reynoso floats four possible foes for May

Eddy Reynoso, the trainer of Canelo Alvarez, said we’ll learn soon who his fighter will face in May.

Eddy Reynoso, the trainer of Canelo Alvarez, said his fighter’s opponent for May will be announced on Jan. 15, according to BoxingNews24.com. And it won’t be at 175 pounds.

At least four possible opponents are being considered, the website reported. In his last fight, Alvarez moved up to 175 pounds and stopped Sergey Kovalev to win a light heavyweight title on Nov. 2.

“There are a lot of names,” Reynoso said. “The (Gennadiy) Golovkin trilogy, Callum Smith, John Ryder, Billy Joe Saunders. “We have five months until the date we have in May for when Canelo always fights in.

“There’s plenty of time for Canelo to go back down to 160 or 168. That’s not a problem for us. Right now, we’re going to give it to DAZN to see what’s available to us out there. We plan on making an announcement for the fight in May for Canelo on January 15, after the New Year.”

Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 knockouts) has said repeatedly that he’s not excited about the prospect of facing Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KOs) a third time, saying in effect “that’s finished business” after they drew in 2017 and Alvarez won the rematch on points last year.

However, it’s a fight the fans would embrace. And Alvarez also has said, “if it represents (good) business, why not?”

Golovkin, who won a vacant middleweight title by outpointing tough Sergiy Derevyanchenko in October, is tentatively scheduled to face mandatory challenger Kamil Szeremeta in February.

That means a January announcement might be too late for Golovkin, who presumably would jump at the chance to fight Alvarez one more time but might not wait around for the opportunity.

Smith, a 168-pound titleholder, is coming off a so-so performance against a surprisingly tough Ryder but won by a unanimous decision on Nov. 23. The Englishman is an attractive opponent because he holds the WBA super middleweight title.

Reynoso told BoxingNews24.com that Alvarez has not given up his WBA “regular” 168-pound title, contrary to some reports. Boxing Junkie doesn’t recognize that belt.

Ryder (28-5, 16 KOs) presumably is in the picture because of his inspired performance against Smith (27-0, 19 KOs). Some believe the relatively unknown Londoner did enough to win the fight.

And Billy Joe Saunders (29-0, 14 KOs), another 168-pound titleholder from England, also is coming off a mediocre performance. He stopped Marcelo Coceres in the 11th round but struggled up until that point on Nov. 9.

Callum Smith faces pressure against John Ryder because of what lies ahead

There are heightened stakes and perhaps some additional pressure on Callum Smith on Saturday in a super middleweight bout as critical as any in his unbeaten career. He faces John Ryder. But it is more than just another fight. It’s a projected …

There are heightened stakes and perhaps some additional pressure on Callum Smith on Saturday in a super middleweight bout as critical as any in his unbeaten career. He faces John Ryder. But it is more than just another fight.

It’s a projected springboard for Smith (26-0, 19 knockouts), who has hopes for bigger names, bigger crowds and bigger money in 2020.

You’ll find Smith’s name on a list of possible opponents for Canelo Alvarez, who figures to fight again in May. A fight at light heavyweight against Sergey Kovalev has also has been mentioned.

Mostly, there’s been talk about a 168-pound showdown with U.K. rival Billy Joe Saunders in March or April at Anfield, a Liverpool soccer stadium with a seating capacity of about 54,000. Promoter Eddie Hearn foresees a huge crowd for that one. But there’s already talk that Saunders, who failed to impress in a stoppage of Marcelo Coceres on Nov. 9, isn’t a big enough name.

“It’s an opportunity, and we will see what happens,” Smith trainer Joe Gallagher told The Mirror, a U.K. newspaper “But we don’t want Anfield with just 10,000 there. We want Anfield with a proper dance partner.

Callum Smith (right) is coming off an impressive knockout of Hassan N’Dam in June. Timothy A. Clary / AFP via Getty Images)

“From what I hear about Billy Joe Saunders, he either wants to move back down to middleweight or get the Canelo fight. But I don’t think Billy Joe Saunders would bring 30-40,000 in.

“Just look at his last fights. We will just have to wait and see. But, first and foremost, we have to take care of John Ryder, and he’s in the form of his life.”

Gallagher knows about the perils of looking ahead instead of focusing on the immediate. Ryder (28-4, 16 KOs), a mandatory challenger for Smith’s belt, has some momentum. He’s won four straight since dropping a split decision to Rocky Fielding on April 22 ,2017.

Smith fights Ryder at the 11,000-seat Echo Arena, also in Liverpool, Smith’s hometown, on DAZN in the U.S. and Sky Sports in the U.K.

“We haven’t see the best of Callum Smith yet,” Gallagher said. “That’s the frightening thing. Against George Groves (on Sept. 28, 2018), I was really annoyed that he stopped (Groves) in the seventh round because he had so much more to show in terms of shot selection.

“Listen, he’s still got huge potential and hopefully John Ryder will be able to bring another skill set out of Callum for everyone to sit back and say he is the real deal. We did testing last week and everything is the best it’s been. His weight is down. That tells you everything that he won’t take any challenge lightly. He’s absolutely on it.’’