Saunders: Golden Boy’s offer to Derevyanchenko was half of what he got for GGG fight

By Boxing News - 07/05/2020 - Comments

By Dan Ambrose: Billy Joe Saunders says Sergiy Derevyanchenko was offered to fight Canelo Alvarez for only half of the amount of money he got to face Gennadiy Golovkin last October.

Saunders doesn’t see middleweight contender Derevyanchenko (13-2, 10 KOs), David Lemieux, or Callum Smith getting the fight against Canelo on September 12.

Billy Joe (29-0, 14 KOs) already made the announcement that he’s no longer interested in facing Canelo next because there’s not enough time to train. The ten weeks that Golden Boy is giving Saunders to get in shape would only be five or six.

He would be expected to attend press conferences and media events for the last four weeks. So rather than do that, Saunders has chosen to pull his name from consideration for the Alvarez fight. Besides that, Saunders was unhappy at Golden Boy wanting him to take a cut in pay for the Canelo fight.

Image: Saunders: Golden Boy's offer to Derevyanchenko was half of what he got for GGG fight

Billy Joe talks Derevyanchenko’s offer for Canelo fight

“I don’t think they [Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo] are going to be fair for the sums to the people,” said Saunders to IFL TV. “Derevyanchaneko was offered half of what he fought Golovkin for, so I doubt that’s going to happen as well. I know that for a fact. He’s been offered half of what he actually boxed Golovkin for.

“I hope Callum Smith gets his money and gets the fight, but mark my words, Callum Smith won’t be fighting him anytime soon because the money is just not there.

“I don’t blame Callum for not taking the fight because when you work all your life for this sort of fight, you want to be paid right, you want to get in the ring right, and you want to get the right results,” said Saunders.

Derevyanchenko would have been a great replacement opponent for Alvarez to fight in September, as U.S boxing fans like that fight. The 2008 Olympian Derevyanchenko almost beat Gennady Golovkin last October at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Canelo would be able to take advantage of Derevyanchenko’s popularity to increase interest in his next fight on DAZN. Derevanchenko probably won’t agree to a smaller money offer from Golden Boy for the Canelo fight, but it’s possible.

Billy Joe wants a tune-up, then Andrade or Callum Smith

“I want to brush the cobwebs off somewhere,” said Saunders on him, possibly taking a tune-up next. “But I want a big fight this year, whether that be [Demetrius] Andrade stepping up to super middleweight.

“We’ve got Callum Smith, a world champion. So I’m not short of options. I’m sure those two would like to be in this magnitude of a fight.

“One’s a unification and one’s [Andrade] is stepping up to try and become a three-time world champion. I’m sure they wouldn’t turn the offer down, and the money that they [Golden Boy] would have given me for the Canelo fight, I could earn more from them two. just by sticking to the contract,” said Saunders.

Those are great fights for Saunders against Callum Smith and Demetrius Andrade. If the money will be better for Billy Joe in fighting those two compared to Canelo, then it makes sense for him to go in that direction.

Saunders would have had a hard time trying to beat Canelo because he’s not a knockout threat. That means the only way Billy Joe would beat the Golden Boy star Alvarez is by a decision. Can Saunders because Canelo in Las Vegas by a decision? Probably not.

Image: Saunders: Golden Boy's offer to Derevyanchenko was half of what he got for GGG fight

Lemieux won’t get Alvarez

“I generally believe that [Canelo vs.] Callum Smith fight won’t happen because the money they’re going to offer him, he’s not going to take it,” said Saunders.

“They’re not going to fight David Lemieux because he’s with Golden Boy and Canelo doesn’t like Golden Boy. They’re going to have to fly someone over for a quick knockout win, and I’m not a quick knockout win.

“What people don’t realize is I’m a two-time world champion, and I belong at an elite level. I’m not just an opponent. If I’m not prepared to go out and win, you could give me $100 million.

“That’s why I said, ‘I’m going to remove myself from the talks because I’m not going to be listening to your bulls***.’ ‘Oh yeah, we were going to give you the money, but now Callum Smith has come in and is going to take less.’ That’s all the s*** that we had before,” said Billy Joe.

Lemieux is considered a terrible choice for Canelo in the view of many boxing fans. The Canadian fighter has struggled for several years in trying to make weight for his fights, and he’s fallen apart when he’s fought better opposition.

There’s no upside in Canelo choosing Lemieux as his opponent. The hardcore boxing fans don’t think highly of Lemieux, and the casuals won’t be familiar with him.

Hearn warned Saunders

“Eddie [Hearn] told me that, ‘I think they’re [Team Canelo] going to give you an offer, but don’t expect it to be what you were getting,'” said Saunders. “They [Golden Boy] came back with stupid offers that I can’t even go into, and a ten-week camp and you’re running up and down with media s*** for four weeks of that.

“I’d rather not be in that situation. If I get beat by a better man when I’m 100%, fair and square, I can only shake his hand and wish him all the best. If I do it for money for a few quid, it’s hard for me to look at my dad and my kids in the eyes, and I’m not going to do that.

Image: Saunders: Golden Boy's offer to Derevyanchenko was half of what he got for GGG fight

“They can’t expect me to not have a gym to train,” said Saunders about Golden Boy Promotions. “You know during the lockdown in the UK that gyms are restricted. No gym. Not even a gym with a running machine was in. I’ve got a gym at home, but you can’t get ready for that magnitude of a fight [against Alvarez] there.

“We couldn’t fly away from camp, so there were no gyms available. You want me to train at home to get ready for the biggest fight of my life? That’s not good business,” said Saunders.

Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has been saying for weeks that Saunders and Callum wouldn’t be getting big money to face Canelo. The only way it makes sense for Saunders to face Canelo is the money he can earn in a rematch if he beats him.

Billy Joe’s ten-week camp would have been shorter

“My side was signed, sealed, and confirmed, but they still didn’t sign their side to happen in May,” said Saunders about the previous plans to face Canelo last May “There was no place for me to train, and for a fight of that magnitude, you need to be 110% ready.

Then they thing up and say, ‘You’re fighting in September’, and they cut you by a hell of a lot of money by the way. They want to cut you down a hell of a lot of money. People say, ‘you’ve got ten weeks to get ready.’

Of course, I can be ready in ten weeks, but it’s not ten weeks. You’ve got to do your press conferences and your media an s*** like that. So that boils down to seven or eight weeks. I’m not a stepping stone for Canelo.

Image: Saunders: Golden Boy's offer to Derevyanchenko was half of what he got for GGG fight

If they want to fight me, give me the proper time, and give me the money I agreed on the first time. Don’t come back to me about this bulls*** about pay cuts and looking for opponents.

“It’s good to go there and pick up a few quid and go ‘I shared a ring with Canelo. My belts gone.’ I want to be 110% ready. It’s not all about money. I’m about pride,” said Saunders.

Not having a long enough camp to get in shape would be a massive problem for Saunders, who needs to be mobile to beat Canelo. We’ve seen how Saunders had performed when he wasn’t in good shape for the Artur Akavov fight, and he was terrible. Canelo will beat Saunders with ease if he’s not in good condition.

Saunders: I can beat Canelo

“You let me get 100% fit and let them match all my money and put it there,” said Billy Joe on him, wanting more time to train for Canelo. “I’m telling you I can beat him [Canelo] when I’m 100%.

“I’m coming down from a twelve-week lockdown to come in for a ten-week camp. They say ten weeks. Four to five weeks of that is media s***, so it’s not ten weeks. And they would have me running everywhere because that’s the game.

YouTube video

“Boxing is a mind game. They’ll [Golden Boy] have me running everywhere.

If Saunders believes he can beat Canelo, then it’s a fight that he should take. But lack of punching power for Billy Joe would put him in a situation where he would need a decision win over Alvarez. That’s not realistic.

The Saunders that defeated Lemieux would have an excellent chance of making a monkey out of Canelo to beat him. But that’s not going to happen with Saunders having little time to train for Canelo’s next date in September.