By Jeff Aranow: WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders could be facing IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin in a unification fight in the summer if Golovkin wins his next fight against Daniel Jacobs on March 18.
Saunders is supposed to be facing a very dangerous opponent in #1 WBO Avtandil Khurtsidze in his next fight, but could give him a step aside feel so that he can get out of that fight temporarily.
By Scott Gilfoid: David Haye (28-2, 26 KOs) doesn’t appear to be working hard in preparing for his fight in less than four weeks against cruiserweight Tony Bellew (28-2-1, 18 KOs) on March 4 at the O2 Arena in London, England. This week, Haye posted photos of himself relaxing in a Jacuzzi on what appears to be a beautiful yacht.
Haye had a drink of some sort in his hands. In another photo, Haye is shooting baskets. It doesn’t appear that he’s worried at all about his fight against the 33-year-old Bellew, and that’s quite understandable. The fight is perceived to be a huge mismatch of major proportions.
By Scott Gilfoid: The World Boxing Organization has reportedly ordered WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders (24-0, 12 KOs) to begin negotiations with his #1 mandatory challenger Avtandil Khurtsidze (32-2, 21 KOs), according to Fight News. The promoters for the two fighters have 10 days to try and make a deal. If they fail to do so, then the fight will go to a purse bid.
For Saunders, this is not a good fight for him. The timing is terrible. Saunders was talking earlier this week of a big fight on the horizon, which might actually be true if he wins his title defense against Khurtsidze.
By Eric Baldwin: A fight between IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) and WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders (24-0, 12 KOs) is said to be on the verge of being announced in the next week or two. It’s being said that Golovkin will fight Saunders in his native Kazakhstan, which is an unusual location for the fight.
Golovkin has been fighting mostly in the U.S lately, and it would seem like the smarter move by him to continue to do so. What’s kind of surprising is that Golovkin is looking past his March 18 fight against WBA World middleweight champion Daniel “Miracle Man” Jacobs (32-1, 29 KOs) to take the fight against Saunders.
By Adam Godfrey: WBO Middleweight Champion Billie Joe Saunders yesterday told Sky Sports: ‘I have a big, big fight coming up next and it’s a fight the fans will genuinely love although it looks as though I will have to travel. We just need to sit down and finalise a couple of small details and then it will be finished. I’ve been waiting for this big fight for a long time – since I won the world title at the end of 2015 – and I hope it will be a game-changer for me’.
By Dan Ambrose: Golden Boy Promotions planned on matching Saul Canelo Alvarez against WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders if the negotiations between him and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. hadn’t been successful for their May 6 fight on Cinco de Mayo on HBO PPV. Golden Boy was reportedly in negotiations with Saunders (24-0, 12 KOs) promoter to have him as Canelo’s opponent on May 6.
The fight would have given Canelo (48-1-1, 34 KOs) the chance to pick up the WBO 160lb title, which he and Golden Boy wants. Fortunately for Canelo, Golden Boy was able to negotiate the fight with the former WBC middleweight champion Chavez Jr. (50-2-1, 32 KOs). The Canelo-Chavez Jr. fight will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in as Vegas, Nevada.
By Dan Ambrose: Frank Warren, the promoter for WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders (24-0, 12 KOs), wants him to defend his title against #1 WBO Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) in his first fight in 2017. Warren figures that the 27-year-old Saunders has got the goods to keep the Canelo vs. Gennady “GGG” Golovkin fight from taking place in 2017.
Warren wants Saunders to face Golovkin after he beats Canelo. That would be a very big year for Saunders if he can beat Canelo and then take on Golovkin. Even if Saunders loses to Golovkin, he would get two very nice paydays against those two fighters.
By Scott Gilfoid: Former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury (25-0, 18 KOs) should be back inside the ring in April or May of 2017, according to his trainer Peter Fury. The 28-year-old Fury is back in training and working on taking weight off to get ready for his comeback.
Whether the British Boxing Board of Control will allow Fury back at that time is unclear. The 6’9” former IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Fury is taking care of some personal problems that led to him vacating his titles rather than facing Wladimir Klitschko in a big money rematch.
By Dan Ambrose: Instead of facing former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on Cinco de Mayo, it’s looking like Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) will be back inside the ring against WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders (24-0, 12 KOs) on the Mexico holiday on May 6.
Canelo and his promoters at Golden Boy were thinking of him fighting in February, but they don’t want to take a risk with his hand injury that he suffered in his last fight against WBO junior middleweight champion Liam Smith last September.
By Dan Ambrose: In a predictable move, the World Boxing Organization has installed Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) as the No.1 mandatory challenger to WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders (24-0, 12 KOs) in what is clearly a prelude to Canelo challenging for the title in the first quarter of 2017.
Canelo going to the front of the line to get a title shot against Saunders might seem unfair to some fans. Canelo is the WBO 154lb champion and that lets him the WBO 160lb champion as his new mandatory challenger.