By Sean Jones: Billy Joe Saunders is looking more shredded than a julienne salad with less than three weeks to go before his massive unification bout with superstar Canelo Alvarez on May 8th on DAZN.
Is Saunders TOO cut up?
Sean Jones has never seen Saunders look this ripped before, and you have to wonder if he overdid it training for this fight.
I mean, Saunders looks like he’s in ‘beach shape,’ but not in boxing shape. He may be too drained of muscle for him to put up a fight against the stocky tank-like Canelo. Saunders has the look of someone that went overboard during training camp and won’t have the power or strength to deal with the more muscular Canelo.
WBO super middleweight champion Saunders (30-0, 14 KOs) seems to have taken out the stops in getting in the best possible shape possible for his match against WBA/WBC champion Canelo (55-1-2, 37 KOs) at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
There is some worry, though, because Saunders will be fighting in front of 70,000 screaming Canelo fans, and they’ll be sure to cheer the Mexican star even when he misses.
Knowing how popular Canelo is, it’s safe to say that any rounds that are close or even not so close will be scored for him.
Canelo vs. Plant already being planned.
What makes things look bleak for Saunders is the pre-planning that Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has been doing with Canelo for a September unification match against IBF champion Caleb Plant.
That’s the coup de grace right there. Additionally, Saunders won’t have an English judge among the three on the night.
What this all means is Saunders may need a knockout for him to have any chance of getting the ‘W’ in this fight, and he doesn’t have the power to knock out Alvarez.
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Hearn is planning well ahead by working on the Canelo vs. Plant fight, and that looks so bad. He had to have known that it would upset Saunders by doing this.
Perhaps Hearn is focusing on the big picture, knowing that Canelo is the favorite and that Saunders’ only chance of winning is if he knocks him out.
That obviously isn’t going to happen because Saunders lacks the power to knockout A-level fighters.
Billy Joe’s dad wants the fight to be fair.
“There’s no loyalty; there’s no trust. His loyalty lies with Canelo Alvarez,” said Tom Saunders to Boxing Social about Eddie Hearn.
“On fight night, we’re facing 70,000 screaming Mexicans. We’re fighting Canelo Alvarez, and it seems like now, we’re fighting the promotional team as well.
“If they think they have a sacrificial lamb here. Billy Joe isn’t a sacrificial lamb. Billy Joe is a lion.
“When he steps inside the ring, he’s going to roar. When he roars, they’re going to know what kind of lion he is. I just want this to be fair and just.
“My son wants to unify the titles just like Canelo. Give us a fair chance. This fight has to be fair.
“Give us some love. Your own promoter is supposed to be working for you. How can you trust him? The only love he’s showing is every opportunity; he’s with Canelo.
“Eddie Hearn has got a business interest. It’s not in Eddie Hearn’s interest for Billy Joe to win this fight, and that’s worrying,” said Tom Saunders.
It’s quite understandable for Hearn to be giving Canelo the red carpet treatment because he’s a huge worldwide star. Hearn gives Anthony Joshua the same star treatment.
It makes sense for Hearn to do so because it’ll help increase the chances that Canelo will keep re-upping with Matchroom each time his contract expires.
Tom Saunders not trusting anyone
“At the moment. I’m not trusting anyone,” said Tom Saunders. “I don’t want him [Eddie Hearn] to be upsetting my son on fight night.
“If he’s watching this, show us a little bit of respect and stay in the corner. That’s where you belong, and that’s in Canelo’s.
“Billy Joe would fight him in a phonebooth if he had to. That’s the sort of person he is. It’s just another fight for him. He’s not God. And he’s just another fighter, and he’s been lucky.
“He’s been beaten three times, in my opinion. He had two lucky escapes with the judges, with Golovkin and Lara.
“He had help with the judges, and he was 100% beat by Floyd Mayweather. So he’s a beaten fighter, he’s been beat, and he will taste defeat again. He [Billy Joe] wants to prove everyone wrong.
“He has his doubters in the UK, and obviously, he has his doubters here. And he wants to prove everyone wrong, and he’s never been different,” said Saunders.
What the Golovkin, Austin Trout, and Erislandy Lara fights showed is that you have to put it on him if you want to beat Canelo. You can’t hold back before you’re afraid of being hit with one of his counter lefts.
Tom is suspicious
“If Billy Joe loses, we’ll shake his hand,” said Tom Saunders. “That’s another thing. We’ve been told that Caleb Plant has been approached for the fight straight after Billy. What this about?
“We’re hearing this stuff, and it’s true. What does that tell you? For me, as a parent, it tells me something is going on here. My gut feelings tell me something is not right.
“The Canelo team is very stupid in overlooking Billy Joe, and they’re not stupid, or they know something we don’t. They’re pretty sure of the outcome of this fight.
“If that’s the case, it’s pretty worrying, isn’t it? If it was your kid in there, wouldn’t you be worried if you were hearing this sort of stuff?
“Tyson is looking forward to the fight. He has full confidence in Billy Joe like the rest of us.
“Let the Gypsy magic into your hearts, and you’ll have a lot of luck tapping at your door. We need a lot of luck at the moment with the pandemic,” said Tom Saunders.
Billy Joe and his dad Tom are worried too much about this fight, and they need to just focus on doing the best they can. If Saunders gets robbed, he won’t have been the first one that got that treatment fighting Canelo.
Eubank Jr wants Canelo to retire Saunders
“Saunders is irrelevant in the sport now, even though he does have a world title,” said Chris Eubank Jr to Intu Boxing.
“He has fought nobody, I’m the only guy he has fought, and that was six years ago. How can you not have fought anybody of caliber or note in six years?
“Canelo will be doing a public service when he takes him out – gets him out of the sport,” Eubank Jr continued about his wish that Canelo steers Saunders out of boxing.
“Or at least take the title off him because he doesn’t deserve to be called a world champion,” said Eubank Jr. of Saunders.
Well, Canelo is likely to win this fight with ease on May 8th. But whether Saunders chooses to slink off into the sunset is another matter. He may be stubborn and choose to continue fighting.
With the way Saunders has been skillfully matched during his career, it’s possible he can win another world title or two.