By Charles Brun: Billy Joe Saunders says he’s ready to start negotiations for a unification fight against WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez, and he believes he has the tools in his box to beat him in early 2021.
Canelo (54-1-2, 36 KOs) is fresh off his win over WBA champion Callum Smith last weekend, and he wants to win the last two remaining belts at 168.
Saunders (30-0, 14 KOs) has the WBO super middleweight that Alvarez wants, and it’s a fight that can be made easy with two fighters both being on DAZN.
Billy Joe says he’s always believed that he has the tools to beat Canelo, and now he’s in the position to prove his theory.
Billy Joe needs to pressure Alvarez
Saunders saw Callum’s performance against Canelo, and he felt that he made a mistake of fighting at too slow of a pace the entire fight. The slow pace that Callum fought made it easy for Canelo to counter-punch as he likes to have things slower.
Saunders says the pace of the Canelo vs. Smith fight resembled a cruiserweight contest rather than a faster-paced match between super middleweights.
Billy Joe is going to have to fight at a fast pace for him to beat Canelo because he’s not going to have any luck against him if he mimics what Callum did last Saturday.
Billy Joe wants Canelo talks to start immediately
“We’re pushing very hard for the Canelo fight,” said Sauders to IFL TV. “I’ve texted Eddie [Hearn].
“I believe in my heart that I have the tools to beat Canelo,” said Saunders. “I need to be prepared to be that man and I will. I’m waiting for the chance.
“If not, then obviously to the next step. I won’t be waiting around long. Before the next two weeks, the fight needs to be in strong talks and sealed or I’ll move on,” said Saunders.
“I’ll be on the phone trying to get this fight made. I’m missing that big defining fight, and I think you’ll see the best of me. I’ve never been in the ring and not find a way [to win],” said Saunders. “Hopefully, the fight can get made now. There is no bigger fight that can be made at the weight.
“There’s a couple of little things I’d like to try different [against Canelo compared to what Callum did].,” said Saunders.
Billy Joe has no punching power, and it’s going to be tough for him to keep Canelo honest. Unless Saunders can run around the ring all night, he’s going to get walked down by Alvarez and beaten up.
Saunders says there’s no bigger fight for Canelo at 168 than against him, but for the U.S boxing fans, there are a half a dozen matches they’d rather see for Alvarez.
The Brits love the idea of Canelo fighting Saunders, but the Americans want to see Alvarez face these guys:
- Caleb Plant
- Edgar Berlanga
- David Benavidez
- Demetrius Andrade
- Jermall Charlo
- Gennady Golovkin
Saunders believes he’ll beat Canelo
“I think that’s what you have to have to beat Canelo Alvarez,” said Billy Joe. “You have to have more than a boxing brain. You have to have that graft around you.
“It’s a good fight and it’s one that should happen. It’s a unification and one of the biggest fights out there. I believe on my night, I have every tool in the box to beat Canelo Alvarez.
“If I wanted to get my money [against Canelo], I could have gotten it a couple of times. It’s not just about the money. The money comes with that. I just feel that I have the beating of him.
There shouldn’t be a reason why this fight [against Canelo] shouldn’t get made.MTK is confident the fight will be made as well as Eddie Hearn. So let’s get it on,” Saunders said of a fight with Alvarez.
Saunders could very well make it a more boring fight against Canelo than his match against Erislandy Lara back in 2014.
Billy Joe is going to use movement, and do a lot of taunting of Canelo. That’s not going to impress the judges if Saunders fails to let his hands go, and he’ll end up losing a wide 12 round decision.
Canelo lacks the power or the engine needed for him to knockout Saunders, but he’ll almost every round with his pressure and power advantage.
For Saunders to have a shot at winning, he’ll need to stand and trade with Canelo, and he’s not going to do that.
Callum Smith fought at too slow of a pace
“I watched the highlights [of Callum Smith vs. Alvarez], and you can’t fight at that slow pace against Canelo. It was very slow. It’s impossible to fight at that pace.
“That was a big let down for me because I thought he was going to come out and pick the pace up like he did against Groves.
“Maybe the weight was a little bit of an ask at four or five weeks’ notice,” continued Saunders about Callum’s fight with Alvarez. “He didn’t get a fair crack at the whip in going in there with five weeks’ notice to fight the pound-for-pound #1. He’ll probably be moving to 175.
“You can’t ask for much more experience than Callum has got. Callum should have used a little bit more size to his advantage.
“When I was watching it, I thought, it looks like a cruiserweight pace. It was a little bit slow, and that’s what Canelo loves.
“Canelo is just going to stand there and let two or three go. I know Callum is strong, but Canelo is a strong counter-puncher.
“So if you’re going to stand there and fight at a slow pace, he’s going to counter-punch with effect.
“You need to keep him busy, active, thinking and you need to get your triggers going. I think Callum missed it,” said Billy Joe.
Callum looked scared to fight Canelo in the center ring, and his stamina was too poor for him to put pressure on the Mexican. Smith’s think pipestem legs appeared too weak to carry him, so needed to rest against the ropes 90% of the time.
Billy Joe doubts GGG will fight ever him
“I know that fight is never going to happen because there’s too much money on the line for him to fight Alvarez, and probably say, ‘See you later,” Saunders said about a match between him and Gennadiy Golovkin.
“I know it’s not going to happen anytime soon with me and him because he’s getting to the age now where he doesn’t want someone young and fresh around him bouncing around.
“He wants someone standing in front of him,” said Saunders about Golovkin. “Probably the Canelo Alvarez style suits him, standing in front of him and have a bit of a trade-up is a good fight.
“I thought Golovkin won the first fight. If it had been one all, I’d think, let’s have a third one. But a draw and win for Canelo is pretty much saying, you’re never going to get a win,” Saunders said about his view that Golovkin will never be given a victory over Alvarez.
Golovkin won’t fight Saunders because there’s no money in the fight, as the Americans don’t know who he is. Saunders has got that ugly fighting style that would be poison for DAZN.