Billy Joe Saunders looks like he’s still eating good after his huge payday against Canelo Alvarez in May 2021.
The former two-division world champion Saunders (30-1, 14 KOs) still hasn’t resurfaced to continue his once-promising career after enjoying a massive $8 million payday in an eighth-round knockout loss to Canelo on May 21, 2021.
Supersized Saunders
Saunders, 34, looks like he’s been power feeding, bulking up a little in the last two years after enjoying his huge windfall of $8M+ fighting Canelo. With the kind of size Saunders has put on, it will take some effort for him to return to the 168-lb division.
Billy Joe looks like he’s put on a good 50 lbs since the Canelo fight, and that weight doesn’t look like it will be budging anytime soon.
It shows you how Canelo changes fighters’ lives when they face him. He not only beats them, but he also ruins their careers, not because of the beating but because of the millions they rake in.
The Weight of Wealth
The dough often affects their ambition, making it hard for them to return to work. Saunders is just one example. Jermell Charlo is another, and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. was never the same after fighting Canelo.
Saunders would have had a chance to still make things happen if he had gotten back in the ring after his loss to Canelo, but I don’t think that’s the case now. Billy Joe has packed on too much weight, and taking it off is going to kill him—and that’s if he wants to.
Sitting on top of a big fortune, it will be tough for Saunders or anyone to get off the sofa, put down the pork chops, and return to the gym for hard training.
Promoter Eddie Hearn would obviously like to work with Saunders to set him up for a rematch with Chris Eubank Jr. or a match against Conor Benn. But with how things look, I don’t think that’s a realistic option.
