By Barry Holbrook: Billy Joe Saunders is expected to face Canelo Alvarez next in 2020, according to Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn. His understanding is the Canelo-Saunders fight is still going ahead, and expecting it to take place in the summertime.
There’s no one else for Canelo to fight other than Saunders. Gennadiy Golovkin will be fighting this summer against his IBF mandatory Kamil Szeremeta. He’s the one that DAZN wants Canelo to fight. Saunders gets the fight with Canelo by default, and that’s not bad.
There’s still no date yet for the fight, but Saunders (29-0, 14 KOs) is the man that Canelo (53-1-2, 36 KOs) will be facing until Golden Boy Promotions says otherwise.
The only reason the fight wouldn’t take place is because of the pandemic. It’s caused the postponement of the original May 2 date for the Canelo vs. Saunders unification fight.
Canelo is too popular for him to fight behind closed doors, so he needs one of the states to allow fans to attend live events. Golden Boy can either wait until one of the states begins allowing crowds, or they can take the Canelo vs. Saunders fight out of the country. That’s not their style, though.
Hearn confident Canelo-Saunders happens
“No, I think that fights still likely to take place, to be honest with you,” said Hearn to Seconds Out in talking about the Canelo vs. Saunders fight. “It’s no secret that DAZN wants Golovkin to fight Canelo Alvarez.
Gennadiy Golovkin, we have a contract in place with Szeremeta, so that’s another issue. I do think Canelo and Golovkin would like to fight Billy Joe Saunders and Szeremeta before they fight each other.
“It’s a quite similar situation as Fury is with Joshua. If they don’t get a chance to take that fight by July or August, then they’re only going to fight once this year. So then you start saying, ‘I should have the biggest fight I can, really.’ But in an ideal world, Golovkin will fight Szeremeta, and Canelo will fight Saunders in July probably, and then they’ll fight each other later in the year,” said Hearn.
This fight is in the cards, and it has been for some time. Canelo wants to shut the Saunders up, and this is the perfect time for him to do. Saunders is starting to show signs of slipping due to age, inactivity, and injuries. If Canelo doesn’t fight him now, he could miss his chance.
Saunders’ recent joke that he made in poor taste what men can do to their domestic partners during the lockdown shouldn’t get in the way of this fight taking place.
Canelo can’t plan his career around holidays
“I don’t think people can be as obsessed with Cinco de Mayo and the September date,” said Hearn in talking about Canelo’s two favorite fight dates. “That’s almost crazy to think, ‘We must fight in September.’ That’s crazy.
“You can’t plan your career around those dates. The truth is when boxing returns, there’s going to be a huge demand, particularly in terms of the TV audience and pay-per-view numbers as well because there will be more people at home in the short term,” said Hearn.
Canelo needs to give up planning his career around the holidays in the U.S. He’s missing out on a lot of better dates in the U.S that he could be taking advantage of. Canelo lives in the U.S, so he should think about fighting on the fourth of July. That’s a big summer holiday that Canelo can take advantage of.
Hearn: Billy is a prat
“Possibly,” said Hearn when asked if the State Commissions will follow the British Boxing Board of Control with a suspension of Saunders for his controversial comments about giving advice to men for their domestic partners.
“I think it would be very unreasonable for a state to go against the British Boxing Board of Control, who did effectively deal with the incident. I’ve commented about the incident in terms of, ‘He’s a prat,’ Billy. I don’t know if you know Billy. He’s got a good heart. He is a good bloke, and he does a lot for charity.
“Every now and then, he does the most stupid thing that you could ever think about. There’s no malice in it. There was no intention to motivate people to increase domestic violence or something like that, but you just can’t do it because it’s wrong,” said Hearn.
Eddie needs to find someone that can keep tabs on Saunders to make sure that he doesn’t continue to make mistakes. He needs someone that can save him from himself.
This latest episode shouldn’t stop Saunders from fighting Canelo because he’s not said these things before. This was the first time in Saunder’s career that he made comments like that, and he learned his lesson.
Saunders’ self-defeating behavior
“At some point, you have to look at the people around him. Who is filming this? At what point do you say, ‘Yeah, stick that up. That’ll be a laugh.’ I don’t understand. For a world champion with a track record for doing stupid things.
“I just hope that is taken into considerations. What’s frustrating about Billy is that the same weekend that he put the video up, he was at the NHS hospitals delivering food parcels. It was like. It’s like one step forward and two steps back with Billy.
“The British Boxing Board of Control, these people know Billy, and they know he’s a decent kid, but you’ve got to stop. And you’ve got to slap him on the wrist, and you’ve got to fine him. And say, ‘You’re a prat, Billy. One more and you’re out. I think it would be very harsh to lose the opportunity of your life and your legacy over this, to be honest with you.
“It’s a shame because of a lot of people like that edge and that rawness. There’s that unpredictability. We want it in a way, but we don’t want it to where it becomes X-rated or offensive. I’ve seen on social media that a lot of people are sort of backing him, saying, ‘Ah, it’s ridiculous. You can’t get away with anything these days. It was only a joke. How can’t you see it was only a joke.’
“I understand that, but in his position, you just can’t do it,” said Hearn about Saunders.
Billy Joe went overboard with his comments on domestic violence, but that shouldn’t stop him from fighting Canelo. Hearn brings up a good point. A fighter can do a lo to things in the community over the years, but if he messes up even once, it can overshadow all the good that they did.
Saunders has a way of sabotaging his personal life with some of the things he says and does.
