(Credit: Frank Warren) By Scott Gilfoid: Unbeaten challenger Billy Joe Saunders (22-0, 12 KOs) says he’s seen the past fights of WBO middleweight champion Andy Lee (34-2-1, 24 KOs), when he was at his absolute best, and none of those fights have him worried at all about what he’s going to be facing on Saturday night. Saunders and Lee face each other this Saturday night at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, UK.
Saunders, 26, says he’s at his physical best for this fight and is at his best weight. Saunders looked a little drained to me though, and I’m just wondering if he’s going to be a little sluggish on Saturday night after he rehydrates for the fight.
“This is the best I’ve ever looked. This is the best I’ve ever felt,” Saunders said to IFL TV. “I’m ready to be world champion. The weight this time is at a different level. This is the biggest fight I’ve ever been involved in. I’ve got to win this and have a breakout performance. I’ve seen the best of Andy Lee, and the best of Andy Lee doesn’t worry me. No one has seen the best of me. I’ve had 22 fights. I haven’t had one fight where I can tell you that’s class. Hopefully on Saturday night you’ll see it,” Saunders said.
I think Lee was at his best earlier in his career compared to how he’s looked in the last three years. You can tell by the way that Lee has had to rally to win some of his recent fights that he’s not doing so great right now. I think Lee is basically holding on barely with fighting at the top tier of the sport. Saunders may not be one of the best guys in the 160lb division, but he’s good enough to give Lee all kinds of problems.
As far as Saunders goes, I think he looked horrible in his last two fights against Chris Eubank Jr. and Yoann Bloyer. Saunders was bloated in the Bloyer fight in weighing in at 173lbs and sporting a lot of fat around his midsection. In Saunders fight against Eubank Jr. last year, Saunders gassed out after six rounds and was extremely fortunate to win. Heck, a lot of boxing fans thought that Eubank Jr. did enough to deserve the decision. Never the less, we found out in that fight that Saunder can really only fight hard for six rounds to build up a lead. If he goes into the 6th round with the fight basically even, I think he loses to the good fights.
The winner of the Lee-Saunders fight really won’t prove anything, because neither guy is seen as a major player in the division. For them to be seen as a major player, they have to beat the likes of Gennady Golovkin, Daniel Jacobs, Miguel Cotto and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. I cannot see Saunders or Lee beating those fighters. Lee has already failed when fighting fighters like Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., and Brian Vera. Saunders will be lucky if he can beat Lee.
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