Showing class, Team Canelo reached out to Billy Joe Saunders on Wednesday to wish him a speedy recovery after his surgery to repair a broken orbital bone that he suffered last Saturday night in his loss to Canelo Alvarez at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
WBA/WBA super middleweight champion Canelo (56-1-2, 38 KOs) hit WBO champ Saunders (30-1, 14 KOs) with an uppercut in the eighth round that fractured his right cheek and orbital bone in three places.
After the round, the fight had to be stopped to protect the 31-year-old Saunders from suffering further injuries to his right eye.
Before Saunders faded in the seventh, he was surprisingly getting the better of Canelo. The skills that Saunders showed were impressive, as he was frustrating Canelo, making him miss with his power shots over and over.
Things fell apart for Saunders in the seventh when he started showing signs of fatigue, which had nothing to do with Canelo. He just looked like he was tired from carrying around the extra weight.
Saunders had surgery last Sunday, and it remains to be seen whether he’ll be able to come back from this. His promoter Eddie Hearn wants to bring him back when he’s ready, but it’s unknown when that’ll be.
Billy Joe made $8 million for the Canelo fight, which is an excellent payday. To get anywhere close to the amount, he’ll need to fight someone like Gennadiy Golovkin or perhaps Jermall Charlo.
Team Canelo wishes Billy Joe a speedy recovery
Canelo intimidated Saunders
“Once I saw the tactics he was doing like not showing at the press conference or making the whole thing for the ring, I thought, ‘Ah he’s shook,’” Gabe Rosado said to the DAZN Boxing Show.
“He tried to flip the script and get in Canelo’s head. Billy Joe Saunders talked a good game, but when he’s hurt, you’re going to find out what someone’s really made of in adversity. He talked the talk but he didn’t back it up.”
“How can you get in Canelo’s head when he’s been fighting on the big stage for years – and it was weird he was trying to do that. This ain’t’ new to Canelo. I felt he was using those tactics to get himself going. I felt like, ‘Ah right, Canelo’s got him.’”
Saunders wanted the fight to take place inside a 24-foot ring, so he was naturally upset at learning that Canelo’s team was planning on having the contest take place in an 18-foot ring. Saunders then pushed hard and was able to get Canelo and Matchroom Boxing to meet him halfway at a 22-foot ring.
It might have made a difference for Saunders to fight in a larger ring if he were in better condition to move around the ring the way a better-conditioned/younger fighter would have.
