Saunders WON’T get decision over Canelo Alvarez in U.S says Fury

By Boxing News - 01/18/2020 - Comments

By Scott Gilfoid: Billy Joe Saunders has an excellent chance of beating Saul Canelo Alvarez, but not if it goes to a decision, according to Tyson Fury.  He doubts that the judges in Las Vegas will give WBO super middleweight champion Saunders (29-0, 14 KOs) the win if it goes the distance against Canelo (53-1-2, 36 KOs) due to the Mexican star being so popular.

Saunders, 30, is one of two possible options for Canelo to fight on May 2, and some believe it’ll be him that gets selected. The other option that Team Canelo are considering is WBA super middleweight champion Callum Smith.

The reasons why Callum (27-0, 19 KOs) could lose out on the Canelo is his size, power, and quiet disposition. The 6’3″ Callum looks like a light heavyweight inside the ring, and he punches with a lot of power. Smith doesn’t resemble a typical super middleweight, and he would have a big size advantage over the 5’8″. On top of that, Callum is shy, and he’s not a great talker.

Callum wouldn’t be someone that could sell a fight with Canelo to the American audiences. Someone else would have to do that, and obviously the job would down on Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn’s shoulders. Saunders is a better talker, and would arguably attract more interest in a fight with Canelo than Callum.

Fury doubts Saunders will get decision over Canelo in America

“I give him good chances. He’s a good, sick southpaw,” said Fury to IFL TV in talking about Saunders against Canelo. “Coming to America though. Again, Vegas. Canelo is a massive star here, and Canelo has taken over in Vegas from [Floyd] Mayweather, and in these Independence Day weekend, he is very hard to beat, because even if he goes the distance, and Billy Joe has won by 4 or 5 rounds, he will not get a decision here.

“Because one [Canelo] is a massive star, and sells like a million pay-per-view,” said Fury on Canelo. “On Independence weekends and special events, he is the Golden Boy of boxing for America.

“I’ve come to America now, and took over America completely,” said Fury. “I’m the #1 fighter in America, and I’m probably the most popular and charismatic since Muhammad Ali. But Canelo on those special weekends, he takes over these places.

“So it would be very hard to beat him on points here,” continued Fury in talking about Saunders and Canelo. “I’m on the same boat as Wilder. They’ve got one heavyweight champion that’s equal to Muhammad Ali’s defenses. They haven’t got anybody else. Some young prospects, so it’s going to be hard to get a decision here over him.

“It’s like going to England and expecting to get a decision over Anthony Joshua or over me self or anybody,” said Fury in talking about trying to win on the road. “And it’s tough to do, but it’s achievable because I beat [Wladimir] Klitschko in Germany, when everybody said I would never get a points decision and I did,” said Fury.

It’s disappointing to see how jaded Fury has become since his draw against Deontay Wilder in 2018. Fury now believes that he and some other foreign fighters like Saunders can’t win decisions in the U.S. Saunders can definitely get a decision over Canelo in Las Vegas, but he would need to fight better than what he showed in his last contest to do that.

Billy Joe struggled last November in beating fringe contender Marcelo Esteban Coceres.

Billy Joe can beat Canelo for sure says Fury

“I just hope they do the right thing,” said Fury about the judges working the Canelo vs. Saunders fight. “I think Billy Joe can out-box him [Canelo], for sure. Billy is very smart, switched, focused, and he’ll out-box Canelo, and then it’s all up to the judges, isn’t it? Callum Smith against Billy Joe?

“Callum is a big guy, like light heavyweight sized. What is he, 6’2′, 6’3″? And Billy Joe is like 5’8″, 5’9″ or 5’10”. So there’s a big difference. But listen, he’s capable of beating anybody. We seen John Ryder, who is a small guy give Callum Smith hell and high water in his last fight. It’s a good fight for British boxing,” Fury said.

Right now, going off the performances by Canelo and Saunders in their last fight, Billy Joe will lose against him. The fighter that would have a chance of beating Canelo is Callum, but he probably won’t get the fight. Saunders looks like he’s lost something from his game since moving up to 168. He’s had problems in both of his fights at super middleweight against Coceres and Shefat Isufi.

I don’t know if that’s a product of the weight difference or the wear and tear starting t show on Saunders. It could be that Saunders was never that good to begin with. I mean, we never saw Saunders fight anyone talented at 160 all these years, did we?

These are the guys Saunders has fought since 2014:

  • Andy Lee
  • Chris Eubank Jr.
  • Emanuele Blandamura
  • Shefat Isufi
  • Yoann Bloyer
  • Artur Akavov
  • Charles Adamu
  • Willie Monroe Jr.
  • David Lemieux
  • Marcelo Esteban Coceres

Those are fighters that a lot of the contenders at 160 and 168 would beat. Saunders has arguably been milking his titles for the past 6 years, and he that may helped him hide his lack of talent.

YouTube video