Canelo vs. Billy Saunders could be announced inside ring after Yildirim match on Feb.27th

By Boxing News - 02/17/2021 - Comments

By Barry Holbrook: Eddie Hearn says that the announcement for the May 8th fight between Canelo Alvarez vs. Billy Joe Saunders could be made inside the ring on February 27th after Alvarez’s fight against Avni Yildirim.

The idea is to have Canelo and Saunders do a dramatic face-off inside the ring, which will get fans excited about seeing them battle it out on May 8th live on DAZN.

Hearn had been hinting in the last month that we could see Saunders make the trip to Miami to be at ringside for Canelo’s fight against Yildirim so that they could announce the fight.

But now it’s certain, Saunders will be at ringside for the fight, and he will enter the ring if Alvarez wins, and they’ll make the announcement for the May 8th clash at that time.

Canelo (54-1-2, 36 KOs) will need to come out victorious against Yildirim, of course, and he also must come through the contest without suffering any injuries for him to face Saunders on May 8th.

Image: Canelo vs. Billy Saunders could be announced inside ring after Yildirim match on Feb.27th

WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Canelo and WBO champ Saunders (30-0, 14 KOs) announcing their fight live in front of fans on February 27th will make it more interesting.

Canelo will be defending against his WBC mandatory Yildirim (21-2, 12 KOs) in front of a crowd expected to be 15,000 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.

Alvarez, 30, is ready a big favorite to defeat Yildirim, a fighter that hasn’t fought since 2019 and was beaten in his last fight by Anthony Dirrell.

Matchroom Boxing will need as much of a headstart as possible on the Canelo vs. Billy Joe promotion of the May 8th unification contest.

Several things will make it difficult for Hearn to get the U.S boxing public excited enough for them to watch to subscribe to DAZN to watch the Canelo-Saunders match:

  • Saunders not well known by U.S fans
  • No one pushing for Canelo to face Billy Joe
  • More popular fighters than Saunders in the U.S
  • General disinterest by fans in Canelo unifying against no-name belt-holder
  • Many fans perceive Saunders as the weakest champion at 168

Hearn has got his work cut out to get the American boxing fans anxious to see Canelo face Saunders on May 8th.

It’s great that Hearn wants to let the casual boxing fans get introduced to Saunders on February 27th by having him face off with Canelo inside the ring after the Yildirim fight.

Some boxing fans argue that Canelo has the faulty belief that winning as many world titles as possible will help shape his legacy to make him great.

Image: Canelo vs. Billy Saunders could be announced inside ring after Yildirim match on Feb.27th

The great legends from the past carved their legacy’s by facing the best and not just looking to win titles against belt-holders the way Alvarez is doing.

Canelo is going about it the opposite way of the legends by choosing to win titles against belt-holders and not facing the opposition the fans want him to take on.

For Canelo to be among the greats like Oscar De La Hoya, he must face fighters that fans want to see him fight. Canelo believes that if he becomes the undisputed champion at 168, it’ll make him a bigger star.

It would make Canelo a bigger star by unifying the 168-lb division if the champions held titles in the weight class were well respected by the fans and if they were the guys that people wanted Alvarez to face. They’re not, though.

Fans aren’t asking Canelo to face Saunders or Caleb Plant, and they definitely ask for him to face Avni Yildirim. Canelo has lost his way since his rematch with Gennadiy Golovkin, and he’s no longer taking on the opposition that the fans want him to.