By Allan Fox: Canelo Alvarez is furious with the way WBO super middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders has behaved in the last two weeks. The bit about Saunders (30-0, 14 KOs) wanting a larger 24-foot ring isn’t entirely what got Canelo’s back up.
Canelo (55-1-2, 37 KOs) said this week that he’s looking forward to hitting Billy Joe because he’s tired of him.
With that said, Canelo isn’t angry enough to fight recklessly. He’s going to be calm and professional when he gets inside the ring on Saturday night.
The comments about the judges and how he felt that his promoter Eddie Hearn was taking sides against him with Canelo.
All the complaining from Billy Joe has led Canelo to believe that he’s making excuses ahead of time to take the heat off from the fans after he loses on Saturday.
The only way Canelo can keep from being viewed by Saunders as being given preferential treatment is if he knocked him out.
Even then, Billy Joe could twist things if he wants to squirm out of taking responsibility for his defeat.
Canelo is fed up
“Maybe, but I also think that’s just the way Saunders is, and I mean in terms of his personality, not so much his fighting style,” said Chris Algieri to Fighthype when asked if Saunders is intentionally trying to get under the skin of Canelo.
“Maybe that is why he does that, but I just think that’s the way he is. He’s a ball buster, and it’s hilarious. But Canelo is not looking too enthused.
“I think this is the most focused I’ve seen him in a fight week in a long time. He [Saunders] could [get it to work for him], but Canelo at this point is such a seasoned veteran; it’s going to be really tough to get him off his game, to get him off his focus to the point where it’ll affect him negatively.
“Don’t poke the bear. It seems like it,” said Algieri when asked if Saunders has annoyed Canelo to the point where he wants to beat him on Saturday. “It was funny that exchange with the handshake and the fist.
“I thought that was really indicative because it seemed like Billy Joe was going to fake it, and Canelo beat him to it. He’s like, ‘Uh ah.’ I thought that was an interesting exchange between the two. It seems like Canelo is fed up,” said Algieri about Alvarez being tired of Billy Joe’s games.
Canelo appeared to be holding up well to the mind games that Saunders was using until this week. Canelo looks like he’s had enough of Billy Joe, particularly after their first face-off.
Algieri: Billy Joe is a live dog
“Oh, he’s got a chance; he’s a live dog,” said Algieri about Saunders. “I don’t predict it. I think we’re seeing the best of Canelo now in his prime, but Billy Joe on paper has everything to upset the applecart.
“But when you look at it closer with the way they match-up, I’m going to go with Canelo. Billy Joe is a hard guy to look good against in general, let alone win.
“Canelo fights in spurts, very explosive. He shuts guys’ offense down with his counters and combinations. He throws very sharp jabs, and he wastes nothing.
“I read info that he lands 45% of his power punches. That’s an average, and that’s wide.
“I always said if you land 50% of your power punches, the fight is going to get stopped, and if he’s landing 45 percent per fight, that’s super impressive,” Algieri said.
There are very few boxing fans outside of the UK that think Saunders has a chance of winning.
He’s facing what many people view as the best fighter pound-for-pound on the planet in Canelo. Saunders doesn’t have the power, speed, or the same experience as Canelo.
Saunders will lose if he fights defensively
“I think he has the mustard to do so, yes,” said Algieri when asked if Saunders can knock out Canelo. “I don’t know that he will.
“If he stays on his back foot and boxes, he’s going to lose. He’s going to lose a lot of rounds. He’s going to win very few rounds that way.
✅ 167.4 LB #CaneloSaunders #FightWeek pic.twitter.com/Kbac94x8ko
— Canelo Alvarez (@Canelo) May 7, 2021
“He’s going to have to step on it, get in there and mix it up, which I’ve said in other interviews; he’s good at doing that.
“For a guy who is a boxer, he will mix it up and stand in there. But he’s never done that with a guy like Canelo with the hand speed, the combination punching, and the counters.
“Just the overall sharpness. I hope he does; I hope he makes it a fight, whether he wins or not. I feel like he’s going to have his whole country on his back to go and give it his all.
“He seems like one of those guys that would rather go out on his shield than go out with a whimper.
‘I think Canelo UD,” said Algieri in predicting a decision victory for Alvarez over Saunders.
If Saunders fights defensively, he’s obviously not thinking of winning because he’s aware that he won’t be given a decision. It’s not that the judges will rob Saunders.
The reason Saunders will lose if he fights defensively is that Canelo will land the harder and cleaner shots, and the judges will be more impressed with him than Billy Joe’s weaker punches.
Canelo not showing signs of stress
“I’m a little surprised about the things about the ring and some of the things that Saunders has been griping about,” said Algieri. “That could mean something; it could not.
UNSEEN ANGLE 👀 #CaneloSaunders
It goes down tomorrow night! 💥@Canelo 🔥 @bjsaunders_ pic.twitter.com/CuK68ymB6t
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) May 7, 2021
“It could be just more ball-busting, as I say, or it could be indicative of how he’s feeling about the pressure for this fight because this is a huge, huge fight.
“Canelo is as stoic as always. It’s really hard to see any kind of chink in that Mexican armor, but either way, I expect a great fight.
“That’s just trash talk, that’s just the way he is,” said Algieri about Saunders taunting Canelo by asking him if he likes “Mexican beef” during their first face-off this week.
“I think he’s [Saunders] the same way if he’s playing a pick-up basketball game with his friends or playing cards or if it’s the biggest fight in the world. I just think that’s the way he is,” said Algieri.
Canelo may not show stress because of the huge support that he’s getting from the boxing world. But at the same time, you can see annoyance when he’s in the presence of Saunders.
“Boxing masterclass from Billy Joe Saunders, and he’s going to win a unanimous decision over 12 rounds,” predicted Tyson Fury to DAZN.