By Scott Gilfoid: Billy Joe Saunders will be the likely opponent for WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight champion Saul Canelo Alvarez to fight next May on Cinco de Mayo in the United States, according to Eddie Hearn. He says he’s got a hunch that Billy Joe is going to be the one that Canelo Alvarez (52-1-2, 35 KOs) picks for his fight in the first quarter of 2020. What a truly awful fight this would be.
Saunders getting Canelo fight is highly unlikely
Canelo and his promoters at Golden Boy Promotions haven’t been mentioning wanting to get up a fight with the 29-year-old Saunders. I hate to say it but it’s highly unlikely that Canelo would want to fight a known spoiler like Saunders. His style of fighting is so ugly, negative and horrible on the eyes. The last thing Canelo needs is to face a southpaw fighter that he’s going to need to chase for 12 rounds. Saunders could further muddy the water by bellyaching after the fight if he loses to Canelo by a decision. Canelo doesn’t need another complainer.
If Saunders looks great on November 9, he might get Canelo fight next May. But that would require that Saunders be facing a talented opponent for the November card, and that’s not going to happen. Saunders is expected to be facing a journeyman for his next fight.
Hearn predicts Saunders getting Canelo fight next May
“I was going to announce today, but I’m waiting for the final approval of the WBO,” said Hearn to Boxing Social about Saunders’ next fight. “We’ll either get it tonight or tomorrow. It’s a good fight. I’m looking for him to fight an American. I think that’s important. Obviously, we know the card he’s going on [KSI vs. Logan Paul]. Now it’s about getting the exposure, and more importantly he gets the win ahead of a massive 2020, because that’s really crunch time for Billy Joe. He gets it,” said Hearn about Saunders being willing to fight on the undercard of YouTuber’s celebrity match between KSI and Logan Paul rather than on a smaller card.
“You have one show here you can box on or you can fight on another show that’s 10 times bigger. What show do you want to go on? It’s not hard to understand. It’s going to be a huge event, and it’s going to be a great opportunity for Billy Joe to break into the U.S audience. A big arena, a big crowd, and obviously a lot of people in the UK watching. The main thing for Billy to get this win in November, and move on to a really big 2020. I believe he’s going to get the Canelo fight. I do on Cinco de Mayo [in May 2020]. And I just got a feeling he’s going to be the pick, and he’ll be ready for that fight,” said Hearn.
Well, it’s entirely possible that Saunders gets picked out by Canelo for the Cinco de Mayo holiday card next May, but Gilfoid wouldn’t bank on it.
Saunders rumored to be defending against Gabriel Rosado next on November 9
The unbeaten Saunders (28-0, 13 KOs) will be defending his WBO super middleweight title in two month’s time on November 9 on the undercard of KSI vs. Logan Paul on DAZN at the Staples Center in Los Angles, California. Hearn says Saunders will be facing an American fighter on the November 9th card.
Although he’s not saying who it’ll be, journeyman Gabriel Rosado (24-12-1, 14 KOs) is a name that has been bandied about. Hearn recently mentioned that Rosado is in the running for the Saunders fight. That would be a horrible option for Saunders, but Hearn would be counting on the hardcore U.S boxing fans wanting to tune in to see Saunders fight on November 9 due to them being familiar with Rosado. The Philadelphia native Saunders is known for his past fights against the following guys:
- Gabriel Rosado
- Gennady Golovkin
- Peter Quillin
- Jermell Charlo
- David Lemieux
- J’Leon Love
- Jesus Soto Karass
- Alfredo Angulo
- Kassim Ouma
- Sechew Powell
- Willie Monroe
- Martin Murray
- Maciej Sulecki
- Glen Tapia
- Luis Arias
- Joshua Clottey
Rosado has fought a massive amount of well known fighters during his career, but unfortunately he’s lost to most of them. He’s a journeyman, what can you say? It would be an incredibly bad look for Billy Joe Saunders to fight Rosado right now, as the guy ISN’T ranked in the top 15 by any of the 4 sanctioning bodies, and he’s lost 3 out of his last 5 fights. When world champions resort to defending against journeyman, it’s arguably unfair to the contenders that have worked their way into the top 15.
