Billy Joe Saunders planning on outsmarting Canelo Alvarez

By Boxing News - 05/05/2021 - Comments

Billy Joe Saunders says he has the boxing brain to dethrone pound-for-pound king Canelo Alvarez in their blockbuster Super-Middleweight unification battle on Saturday night (May 8), live worldwide on DAZN and distributed by TV Azteca in Mexico and Latin America.

Unbeaten Briton Saunders (30-0 18 KOs) puts his WBO strap on the line for the third time against the Mexican star and aims to add the WBC and WBA Super belts held by the Mexican sensation.

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Saunders has been widely regarded as having the ring smarts to be the man to hand Canelo a first defeat in eight years and be the man to take the next step to be undisputed at 168lbs – and the 31-year-old says fighting Canelo on Cinco de Mayo weekend holds no fear.

“This fight is all about the brain,” said Saunders. “Not about power, muscle, or skill, it’s the brain and the game plan, and being able to execute that game plan.

“I brush opinions off because I know what goes through my head and my mind, and what I have done in my career is through the will and want to win, and the day I lose that, I won’t put a pair of gloves on again.

“I can only control what I am in control of and that myself, not what is outside the ring. It’s going to be a great fight. It’s one I’ve wanted for years, and it’s finally landed. There’s a lot at stake for both of us. Would I like my fans there? Yes. Would I like UK media there? Yes. If the fight was moved to the Mexican border I wouldn’t care.

“I have my own way of approaching the fight, and Canelo will have too; he’s done this nearly 60 times. I’ll get in there as the best that I can be and that’s all I can control.

“I’ve been the underdog before, I’ve been the away fighter before, it’s not a new position, but I’m just in with a better opponent this time.

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“If I go in there and I win, I’m not going to run and say never again, I’ll fight him again, I’ll fight anyone, anywhere, it doesn’t bother me. It’s good for boxing sometimes when the underdogs come through, and I don’t just mean me here, because it puts the sport on a higher platform to be watched.

“I’m at the top of the tree where I’ve done it all as an amateur, I’ve had 30 fights, I’m unbeaten, won every title coming through, two-weight World champion – I can sit back at night and say I’m top of the pile fighting the pound-for-pound king.”

Alvarez and Saunders clash on a huge night of action in Texas with a stacked undercard in support of the mammoth main event, with Elwin Soto (18-1 12 KOs) defending his WBO World Light-Flyweight title against Katsunari Takayama (32-8 12 KOs).

CANELO VS. SAUNDERS WEIGH-IN OPEN TO FANS
5,000 fight fans can watch World champions hit the scales on Friday
Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders will face off in front of the fans on Friday, with the official weigh-in open to 5,000 fans at AT&T Plaza at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, with the fighters hitting the scales from 2pm ahead of Saturday night’s action, live worldwide on DAZN and distributed by TV Azteca in Mexico and Latin America.

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Alvarez (55-1-2 37 KOs) and Saunders (33-0 14 KOs) clash in a blockbuster unification battle on Saturday night with a stacked undercard in support of that battle, and fight fans can cheer their favorites onto the scales in the Texas sunshine.

Important notes for fight fans:

Gates will open at 12.30pm for entry.
No bags permitted
First come, first served – attendance capped at 5,000

Alvarez and Saunders clash on a huge night of action in Texas with a stacked undercard in support of the mammoth main event, with Elwin Soto (18-1 12 KOs) defending his WBO World Light-Flyweight title against Katsunari Takayama (32-8 12 KOs).