Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez vs. Billy Joe Saunders - May 8, 2021

[Ruthless-RKO]

Matchroom adds Soto vs. Takayama title fight to Canelo undercard - Press Release

Mexico's Elwin Soto will defend his WBO light flyweight title against former 105-pound champion Katsunari Takayama as the chief-support bout to the super middleweight unification clash between Saul "Canelo Alvarez" and Billy Joe Saunders on May 8th at AT&T stadium in Arlington, TX, live worldwide on DAZN (except Mexico). Also added the show:Cuban heavyweight Frank Sanchez battles Nagy Aguilera and junior middleweight Souleymane Cissokho faces Kieron Conway.

Soto (18-1 12 KOs) fights under the Matchroom banner for the first time on the show having penned a deal with Eddie Hearn last week. The Mexican makes the third defense of the crown he ripped from Angel Acosta in dramatic fashion with a final round KO win in California in June 2019 and has seen off the challenges of Edward Heno in October 2019 and Carlos Butrago last October.

The 24 year old now puts the crown on the line against the seasoned Japanese Takayama (32-8 12 KOs). The five-time minimumweight champion made his return to professional action in December in Osaka, Japan having left the paid ranks as a World ruler in 2017 to aim for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo – and now the 37 year old has switched his focus to becoming a two-weight champion.

Sanchez (17-0 13 KOs) let his hands go for a seventh-round KO win over Julian Fernandez on the undercard of Alvarez’s win over Callum Smith in San Antonio, Texas in December, and the big Cuban heavyweight will be looking to repeat that feat against Aguilera (21-10 14 KOs).

Sanchez, trained by Eddy Reynoso, will be plotting a route to the crunch clashes with his fellow big-hitters, but Aguilera will be planning to give him a tough night and the 34 year-old comes into the bout on the back of a 21st career win in November..

French Olympian Cissokho shrugged off his pain at missing the original fight date on the undercard of his manager Joshua by recording his eighth KO win from 12 outings with a sixth round stoppage of Daniel Echeverria in Dallas in March, setting up a rescheduled clash with Conway that is full of intrigue and importance for their respective careers.

Conway (16-1-1 3 KOs) had a good win over Navid Mansouri at Matchroom’s Fight Camp in Brentwood, Essex in August. Conway and Cissokho (12-0 8 KOs) were due to meet on the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s win over Kubrat Pulev in London in December, but the bout had to be shelved, so Conway took his frustrations out on Macauley McGowan on that card instead, with a shut-out win over ten rounds.

OTHER BOUTS

Mexican-American talent Marc Castro (2-0 2 KOs) makes it three Canelo undercard appearances from three since making his pro debut on the Canelo-Smith card in Texas. The stellar amateur recorded a third round stoppage that night and followed that with a second round KO in Miami on the Canelo-Yildirim bill – the 21 year old will be looking to shine on the biggest stage once again over eight rounds against an opponent to be named soon.

Castro’s old amateur foe Keyshawn Davis (2-0 2 KOs) made his debut at the Hard Rock Stadium and he appears alongside Castro once again in his third pro outing. The Virginia starlet grabbed a second round win that night over Lester Brown and followed that by forcing Richman Ashelley to retire after four rounds of their battle in Dubai earlier this month, and Davis will face Jose Antonio Meza (6-4 1 KO) over six rounds. It’s a family affair on the night with Keyshawn’s brother Kelvin Davis (1-0 1 KO) fights for the second time in the paid ranks after a second round KO win on his debut in December in Los Angeles, taking on Jan Marsalek (8-2 7 KOs) over six rounds.

Rounding off the undercard, Mexican Welterweight Christian Alan Gomez Duran (19-2-1 17 KOs) is on another Canelo undercard after stopping Angel Hernandez in three rounds in San Antonio in December, and he’ll celebrate Cinco De Mayo weekend over eight rounds against an opponent to be named soon.

“It’s a stacked night of action at the home of the Dallas Cowboys on Cinco De Mayo weekend,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. “Elwin Soto is a great addition to our stable and the Mexican World champion will want to dazzle on the biggest stage against the experienced Takayama.

“The clash between Kieron and Souleymane is a cracker, and I am thrilled for both of them that they get to perform on this stage – there will be some spice there after it was postponed in December and now, they get their hands on each other in Texas.

“Frank always brings the heat and he’ll be eyeing a showstopping KO, and again, Marc and Keyshawn get to shine under the brightest lights – it’s going to be a spectacular night of action, leading to the big one between Canelo and Billy Joe.”

[Ruthless-RKO]

[KiwiRider]

The undercard screams quantity over quality

[Ruthless-RKO]

Hearn: Saunders, Team Knew Process Of Selecting Judges For Canelo Fight; Was In Contract

Eddie Hearn resents the implication that Billy Joe Saunders and his team weren’t well-prepared for the process of selecting judges for his upcoming showdown with Canelo Alvarez.

Hearn, who promotes Saunders and Alvarez, responded to criticism from Tom Saunders, Billy Joe’s father, during a recent interview with IFL TV. Among other things, Hearn explained that England’s Saunders and his team knew there would not be a British judge assigned to his fight against Alvarez when he signed his contract for their 12-round, 168-pound title unification fight.

Hearn had mentioned before AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, was chosen as the site for the Alvarez-Saunders match May 8 that he wanted one British judge, one Mexican judge and one neutral judge.

The Texas Combative Sports Program, which regulates boxing in that state, ultimately will choose the judges it assigns to the Alvarez-Saunders bout. Like most state and tribal commissions in the United States, the Texas commission has afforded Saunders and Alvarez opportunities to object to judges submitted into the pool of possible officials for their fight.

Commissions aren’t obliged to remove judges or referees to whom boxers object, but those officials typically are eliminated from the pool to avoid controversy on fight night.

“Maybe where the problem is when we originally discussed the fight, we talked about having a British judge, a Mexican judge and an American judge,” Hearn told IFL TV. “Now we’re just having three neutral judges. But the contract that Billy Joe signed clearly states no Mexican [judge], no British [judge], neutral judges. And they will have the opportunity to look at those judges, and if they have an objection, they can do that through the commission.

“So, I explained that to Billy. I explained that to Tom in Vegas. It was taken on board and the panel will be sent to those guys. Now, you know, this was something that was discussed with their team. It was something that was papered. This was something that was signed for. There’s no moving of goal posts.”

In hindsight, Hearn is glad there won’t be a British judge and a Mexican judge assigned to their fight for Alvarez’s WBA and WBC 168-pound championships and Saunders’ WBO belt.

“Ultimately, I don’t like having a Mexican judge, to be honest with you, and where you’ve got, you know, a judge from a country,” Hearn said. “That brings in all kinds of problems with scoring. I’d rather have a neutral panel, which is what he will have. And we will make sure every judge – I’ve already spoken to his team. I think this is probably where the disconnect comes. You know, I’ve spoken to his team, I’ve spoken to MTK [Global, Saunders’ management group]. They are aware of the situation. The judges will be sent to them. They will have an opportunity to review them, as will Canelo Alvarez’s team.

“If there’s any objection before the fight about someone they’re not happy with, they can object to that. And those conversations are ongoing. I’m not gonna go into them, but they’re happy with their position. But again, this is not something that was in a contract, and I just changed now. This was signed in a contract. OK? No Mexican, no British, a neutral panel of judges, and that’s what there will be. And I will make sure that there are no objections from them. And I will do my job as a representative of Billy Joe Saunders, to make sure that him and his management company are happy with the selected judges.”

Mexico’s Alvarez (55-1-2, 37 KOs) has received controversial benefits of the doubt on scorecards in certain instances – most notably in his split-decision victory over Erislandy Lara, his split draw with Gennadiy Golovkin and his majority-decision defeat to Floyd Mayweather.

“The problem is when you have a massive star, a massive name,” Hearn said, “someone that’s selling thousands and thousands of tickets, you know, Tom Saunders made a good point, you know, or I think it might’ve been Billy. When, you know, someone slips a shoulder and he throws a jab, and 70,000 people go mad, that’s what you’re up against. There’s nothing about corruption. I will make sure that we have three outstanding judges on this panel. Right? The commission will choose them. And if anyone’s unhappy, they can make their case. But ultimately, we don’t choose the judges. The commission will tell us the judges. We can object to those. All right? You object to the commission for various reasons. This one may have judged a Canelo Alvarez fight before and given a bad card. Or this one might, you know, there’s many reasons that you feel that a judge wasn’t the correct candidate. This happens all the time. And that’s what their team will do.

“I actually don’t think there will be any objections, to be honest with you, because I think a first-class panel will be put forward. So, I want him to just concentrate on the fight. There’s too much talking, you know, about the judges. You’ve got a fight to fight. You’ll see, you know, as Billy Joe says, really, if Billy Joe Saunders wins this fight comfortably and gets denied a decision, the world will see. I don’t believe that’ll happen. I believe he’ll get a fair crack at the whip. But he is up, as you just said, to your point, against the biggest star in boxing, in front of 60,000 Mexican fans, in Dallas.”

[Enlightened-One]

It would be interesting to know the names of the judges that have been appointed by the commission to officiate the bout.

If they’re from a state that has an economic vested interest in Canelo’s continued success, due to the Mexican’s ability to generate revenue that will financially benefit that geographic region, then one could argue their impartiality may be compromised.

I’m hoping that Canelo scores a clear-cut decisive stoppage, because if the Brit somehow defies my personal expectations and provides the Mexican with a very stern challenge, then this could potentially result in a highly-controversial decision.

[Nondescript]

Anyone trying to push the narrative that David Lemieux is an elite fighter is taking the piss lol.

The guy has a T-rex like reach, comes forward trying to throw bombs but with no boxing intelligence whatsoever. I remember him being outboxed by a journeyman years ago.

The best fighter BJS has fought imo as a pro was probably Andy Lee, and even then its questionable whether he was a true elite middleweight.

In all fairness, the BoxRec forum believed that Saunders-Lemieux was a 50-50 fight.

This media and the betting odds shared the same opinion.

And when Saunders beat David Lemieux, the Canadian was a former world champion, had only been beaten once (by GGG) and was also universally regarded as a top-four 160lb-er by The RING and ESPN.

That’s the problem with hindsight, it often compels people to become revisionist historians, whilst also undermining the achievements of fighters they dislike.

The forum often experienced similar phenomenon whenever Floyd Mayweather Jr. fought.

People were excited about his fights and were desperately hoping he’d lose.

And in some cases, they even predicted an upset (or at least a close fight).

But whenever Money May beat his opponents in one-sided fashion, suddenly the very same people dishonestly pretended Floyd was simply cherry-picking and kept engaging in mismatches, with fighters like Canelo and Pacquiao instantly dismissed as hype-jobs or totally shot!

Only beaten once?

He'd lost to Marco Antonio Rubio and Joachim Alcine back to back in 2011.

Here's Alcine's record after he fought Lemieux, he lost 5 fights in a row - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joachim_Alcine

[Enlightened-One]

Anyone trying to push the narrative that David Lemieux is an elite fighter is taking the piss lol.

The guy has a T-rex like reach, comes forward trying to throw bombs but with no boxing intelligence whatsoever. I remember him being outboxed by a journeyman years ago.

The best fighter BJS has fought imo as a pro was probably Andy Lee, and even then its questionable whether he was a true elite middleweight.

In all fairness, the BoxRec forum believed that Saunders-Lemieux was a 50-50 fight.

This media and the betting odds shared the same opinion.

And when Saunders beat David Lemieux, the Canadian was a former world champion, had only been beaten once (by GGG) and was also universally regarded as a top-four 160lb-er by The RING and ESPN.

That’s the problem with hindsight, it often compels people to become revisionist historians, whilst also undermining the achievements of fighters they dislike.

The forum often experienced similar phenomenon whenever Floyd Mayweather Jr. fought.

People were excited about his fights and were desperately hoping he’d lose.

And in some cases, they even predicted an upset (or at least a close fight).

But whenever Money May beat his opponents in one-sided fashion, suddenly the very same people dishonestly pretended Floyd was simply cherry-picking and kept engaging in mismatches, with fighters like Canelo and Pacquiao instantly dismissed as hype-jobs or totally shot!

Only beaten once?

He'd lost to Marco Antonio Rubio and Joachim Alcine back to back in 2011.

Here's Alcine's record after he fought Lemieux, he lost 5 fights in a row - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joachim_Alcine

You’re not keeping up with the conversation flow.

I’d already addressed that typo. Been discussed elsewhere at length already.

It still doesn’t detract from the rest of the claims conveyed in my counter argument though.

I understand the reason for you preferring to focus on the minutiae instead of the bigger picture detailing the awkward truths, since you’ve clearly refused to address any of my other comments (supported with proof).

[Nondescript]

In all fairness, the BoxRec forum believed that Saunders-Lemieux was a 50-50 fight.

This media and the betting odds shared the same opinion.

And when Saunders beat David Lemieux, the Canadian was a former world champion, had only been beaten once (by GGG) and was also universally regarded as a top-four 160lb-er by The RING and ESPN.

That’s the problem with hindsight, it often compels people to become revisionist historians, whilst also undermining the achievements of fighters they dislike.

The forum often experienced similar phenomenon whenever Floyd Mayweather Jr. fought.

People were excited about his fights and were desperately hoping he’d lose.

And in some cases, they even predicted an upset (or at least a close fight).

But whenever Money May beat his opponents in one-sided fashion, suddenly the very same people dishonestly pretended Floyd was simply cherry-picking and kept engaging in mismatches, with fighters like Canelo and Pacquiao instantly dismissed as hype-jobs or totally shot!

Only beaten once?

He'd lost to Marco Antonio Rubio and Joachim Alcine back to back in 2011.

Here's Alcine's record after he fought Lemieux, he lost 5 fights in a row - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joachim_Alcine

You’re not keeping up with the conversation flow.

I’d already addressed that typo. Been discussed elsewhere at length already.

It still doesn’t detract from the rest of the claims conveyed in my counter argument though.

I understand the reason for you preferring to focus on the minutiae instead of the bigger picture detailing the awkward truths, since you’ve clearly refused to address any of my other comments (supported with proof).

It's not a typo though. It's a big error to say he had only lost once.

As for revisionism, I'm going to guess that a large percentage of people that picked Lemieux to win, did so, more so because of the lack of consistency in BJS's performances overall and because for large periods of time, he doesnt fight top competition and when he does he sometimes flatters to deceive.

The Eubank jnr fight is a great example of that. Going into that fight, Chris was basically a raw novice still who was very green. He had barely had any amateur fights entering the pro ranks, and hadn't been in with enough decent comp to get the adequate experience to enter that fight, and whilst getting comprehensively outboxed in the early stages, he came back in the second half of the fight in a strong fashion and BJS was all over the place, blowing out of his backside.

Saunders should have been winning fights like that in a more comfortable fashion, if he wants to stand a chance of beating someone like Canelo.

[adislav123]

almost everybody will be very surprised witnessing saunders boxing the ears off 'the face of boxing'.

it won't be hard to destine saunders as the man clearly deserving the decision but once again the judges won't do their official duty and will gift the fight to alvarez.

we will be presented predetermined scorecards wrongly in favor of canelo.

with very little relation to what will actually transpire in the ring.

it will be a very very embarassing evening for a lot of dishonest people.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Canelo's Coach: Saunders is Not Mayweather - It's That Simple!

Eddy Reynoso, the head trainer for four division world champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, has reacted to the recent statements from Billy Joe Saunders.

Canelo and Saunders will meet in the ring on May 8th, from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. DAZN will carry the contest.

The WBC, WBA, WBO super middleweight titles will be at stake.

Saunders believes Canelo has issues with good boxers - and points to the Mexican star's sole defeat, which came in 2013 at the hands of Floyd Mayweather, who won a one-sided twelve round decision at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Canelo also had trouble with boxers like Erislandy Lara and Austin Trout.

During the last few years, Canelo greatly improved with world title wins at junior middleweight, middleweight, super middleweight and even light heavyweight.

Many observers view him as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport.

"The Saul from back then is very different from the one we see now and Saunders is not Mayweather, it's that simple," Reynoso explained to ESPN Deportes.

Reynoso recognized the quality of their upcoming opponent, who is undefeated and a two-division world champion, but he's confident that Canelo has the proper tools and abilities to walk away with a big win.

"It will be a difficult fight, because Saunders is a champion at 168 pounds. It will be a difficult fight but in the end the quality of Saul and the strength that he has will see him prevail," Reynoso assured.

Should Canelo win, he will move forward to a September showdown with IBF champion Caleb Plant - in a fight to crown the undisputed king at super middleweight.

[NateJR]

almost everybody will be very surprised witnessing saunders boxing the ears off 'the face of boxing'.

it won't be hard to destine saunders as the man clearly deserving the decision but once again the judges won't do their official duty and will gift the fight to alvarez.

we will be presented predetermined scorecards wrongly in favor of canelo.

with very little relation to what will actually transpire in the ring.

it will be a very very embarassing evening for a lot of dishonest people.

I believe this post will not age well. I expect Saunders will be well in the fight early on. Boxing in spurts, with a lot of movement, throwing pot shots and leaving little chance for Canelo by simply no engaging in a actual fight. By round 3 or 4 is where the tide will turn. Canelo will start digging to the body and start to effectively cut off the ring. By the half way point, Saunders will start noticeably fading. This is where things will get interesting, because I expect Saunders to stay on his bike and go into survival mode. It will then be up to Saunders whether he wants to go out on his shield and get stopped, or run for his life just to hear the final bell.

I'm pretty sure Canelo wins if the fight is close regardless. I just don't see that being the case here. Saunders either gets pummeled for 8 out of the 12 rounds or gets stopped.

This isn't a case of Saunders not having the skill to match up well with Canelo. Saunders is plenty skilled. It's all the other intangibles, like stamina, toughness, willingness and most likely his lack of power to keep Canelo off of him once Canelo does catch up to him.

[Thomastearns]

almost everybody will be very surprised witnessing saunders boxing the ears off 'the face of boxing'.

it won't be hard to destine saunders as the man clearly deserving the decision but once again the judges won't do their official duty and will gift the fight to alvarez.

we will be presented predetermined scorecards wrongly in favor of canelo.

with very little relation to what will actually transpire in the ring.

it will be a very very embarassing evening for a lot of dishonest people.

Agree totally apart from the embarrassed bit.

They're not just dishonest, they're downright shameless career criminals.

[adislav123]

you're right. no shame there.

they just don't give a shit as long as the money machine is running.

but saunders on his tippy toes darting in and out picking off the megastar from all angles and
canelo landing next to nothing will make it tough to give him the W with a straight face.

of course every glancing a glove by canelo will be accompanied by an eardrum perforating hysterical outburst of praise by the fucked up commentators and onesided cheers of the masses hypnotized by canelo's sheer messianic charisma.

compubox will be a joke.

corruption everywhere.

few will call the obvious bullshit.

everybody else up in canelo's ass.

on to the next shitshow.

may the best man win.

[Cent0089]

Very very good interview with Canelo:

https://fightnews.com/explosive-canelo-interview/110382

[Ruthless-RKO]

Very very good interview with Canelo:

https://fightnews.com/explosive-canelo-interview/110382

I like when they do these interviews.

You get to know more about the boxers personally.

[lazboy]

Very very good interview with Canelo:

https://fightnews.com/explosive-canelo-interview/110382

I like when they do these interviews.

You get to know more about the boxers personally.

Highly recommended. Good to hear from him. I’ve become a big fan.

[margaret thatcher]

ya, and he fights better opposition than anyone else in boxing. ppl just always hate the popular kid


although, i must say after watching, that in the greatly debated topic of who has better english, manny is still beating him

[lazboy]

“Oscars only concerned with drinking” Canelo 2021

[margaret thatcher]

and shoving stuff up his nose

[Jeff_lacy_ko]

People dont like canelo because of the dubious scorecards.

[margaret thatcher]

unlike many golden boi's he never won a fight he didnt deserve though

and tbh, loads and loads of fighters had fights where they got some generous scoring or judging. if you're good enough to be a world class fighter then you've probably mostly been an a-side in your career and had much of things done in your favour. ggg for example, who is painted as suffering from injustice vs canelo, easily couldve taken Ls vs dj and sergey

[Cent0089]

Very very good interview with Canelo:

https://fightnews.com/explosive-canelo-interview/110382

I like when they do these interviews.

You get to know more about the boxers personally.

I am surprised how honest and emotional was Alvarez in this interview. Looked a bit drunk too

[Ruthless-RKO]

Press Releas | Kieron Conway vs. Souleymane Cissokho on undercard

Kieron Conway says fighting in front of 70,000 fans in Dallas will be ‘surreal’ but he’s ready to turn on the style against Souleymane Cissokho on the undercard of the unification blockbuster between Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders at AT&T Stadium on Saturday May 8, live worldwide on DAZN and on TV Azteca in Mexico.

Conway (16-1-1 3 KOs) fights on the biggest stage of his career just under two years since the Northampton man boxed in front of a tiny crowd in his hometown over four rounds. Since that night, the 24 year old has gone to a whole new level; a war with Ted Cheeseman for the British Super-Welterweight title in London in June 2019 ending in a split draw but also a promotional deal with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom.

‘Too Class’ has won four fights since that barnburner with ‘The Big Cheese’, with wins over Nav Mansouri at the Matchroom Fight Camp in Essex, UK in August and a shut-out over Macaulay Magowan in London in December standing out in that run.

Magowan stepped in to replace Cissokho (12-0 8 KOs) on the Anthony Joshua-Kubrat Pulev undercard after administrative reasons forced the Frenchman out of the bout on the bill of his manager Joshua, but that frustration for Conway has been replaced by excitement now that he gets to defend the WBA Intercontinental Super-Welterweight title on the biggest platform possible.

“It’s a massive opportunity for me, coming off the AJ card last time out, that was a big stage and now this has come up,” said Conway. “It feels a bit surreal but I’m really looking forward to it and it’s a big stage and a good fight.

“I came up the hard way in the small hall shows where sometimes you are not even getting paid, so to be where I am at now it mad and I need to keep winning, keep entertaining and keep performing so people keep wanting to watch me.

“When I boxed at the Deco Theater in Northampton in front of about 1,000 people not being paid, I told people that I would be boxing on the biggest stages one day and in the space of about two years, i am. AJ cards, Canelo card in front of 70,000 in America - that’s unreal.

“I can’t wait to be in there with such a massive crowd, reacting to your punches and cheering, it makes it feel less like a sparring session. It’s back to big things, this is the biggest stage I’ve ever been on, I’ve got a good spot on the show so there will be a big crowd already in the stadium, so I can’t wait.”

[Ruthless-RKO]

Hearn: Saunders refuses to do media; Canelo doing everything

Promoter Eddie Hearn says Billy Joe Saunders has chosen to refuse to do anything with the media this week to create interest in his fight with Canelo Alvarez on May 8th at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

With Billy Joe (30-0, 14 KOs) opting to do nothing with the media, it’s put everything on Canelo’s shoulders, and he’s doing the hard work giving interviews and talking about the fight, according to Hearn.

Hearn isn’t quite sure why WBO super middleweight champion Saunders isn’t doing his part to work with the media this week, but it’s possible that he’s unhappy with the attention he’s given to the superstar Canelo, who is the A-side for this fight.

Saunders, 31, wanted a British judge to be among the three judges, but it’s not happening. Hearn has no control over the judging panel in terms of selecting which countries they come from.

It’s interesting that Saunders is choosing not to put any effort into helping promote the fight, but it would be a different story if it were on pay-per-view. With the fight being shown DAZN, there’s less of a need for Saunders to put in the hard work promoting the fight.

If this is a strategic move by Saunders to conserve his energy for the fight by not draining himself by giving interviews, it still likely won’t work.

The Saunders that we saw against 38-year-old Martin Murray in his last fight in December, and in his two previous fights against Marcelo Esteban Coceres and Shefat Isufi, won’t have much of a chance against Canelo.

Saunders is a good fighter, but not an elite-level guy. He’s a guy that holds a belt because he was matched against a marginal fighter in Shefat Isufi.

If Saunders had to earn the WBO title by beating David Benavidez, he wouldn’t likely be a champion.

Billy Joe refuses to do media

“They [Saunders] feel I’m favoring Canelo Alvarez. I’m not favoring Canelo Alvarez,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV. “Billy Joe has basically refused to do any media, so Canelo is doing all the media.

"So, of course, the media attention is on Canelo Alvarez because Billy doesn’t want to do anything. He just doesn’t want to do any media. So this week he’s refused to do any media. Listen, that’s alright. It’s not unusual. Sometimes people don’t want to do it. They want to focus on the fight.

“Of course, you’re talking about a pound-for-pound star [Canelo] that everyone is talking about, and he’s doing bucketfuls of media,” said Hearn about Alvarez doing all the promoting for his fight with Saunders by doing the media work.

“So when people say, ‘I’m not hearing anything about Billy Joe,’ it’s because he’s not doing anything. He’s refused to post on social media.

“He doesn’t want to do any media, that’s fine,” said Hearn about Saunders. “He’s focused on the fight, that’s good. This is probably going to be good for Billy Joe. If he’s happy and carefree, maybe he won’t go in there and put on a great performance.

“There’s equal representation, but one [Canelo] is getting more attention [by the media] because he’s doing all the media,” said Hearn on why Canelo is getting more attention than Billy Joe.

Saunders should be working hard in helping to promote the fight because it would mean more boxing fans would get a chance to see him fight.

If the idea is for Saunders to create other opportunities for him in the future, he’s going about it the wrong way by being passive-aggressive.

Try to imagine a social media expert like Jake Paul choosing to not promote his own fight for whatever reason.

Jake wouldn’t take that kind of a stance because he would be undermining himself. He would take full advantage of his moment in the spotlight, but we’re not seeing that with Saunders.

Canelo is expected to beat Saunders with ease on May 8th, and it’s too bad that Billy Joe doesn’t want to take the high road by showing his best self to the fans and the media as he finishes up what will likely be his last days as a world champion.



It’s a bad look on Saunders part that he’s acting bitter, complaining, and not show the class that we’re seeing from Canelo.

Saunders would look better if he kept his feelings hidden because even if he was getting the second class treatment as the B-side in the promotion, he’s so much better off not complaining and looking like a spoiled sport.

For future promoters that might be considering whether they’d want to do business with Saunders, they might choose to steer clear of him if they think he won’t help promote the fights.

Hearn gave Saunders the Canelo fight

“I think a little bit of it is him and Tyson want to wrap themselves up, it’s ‘us against the world’ mentality, which I think is great for them,” said Hearn on why Saunders is choosing to be reluctant about giving interviews.

“I’ve done everything I can for Billy Joe Saunders. I’ve backed him when people said I shouldn’t back him. I’ve delivered for him when others couldn’t deliver for him.

“I can’t do anything more than that. If you don’t want me around, I’ve given you the opportunity [against Canelo] to become a British boxing legend.

“He deserves this opportunity,” said Hearn in sounding like a diplomat in carefully choosing his words.

We’ll see if Saunders can take advantage of this opportunity that Hearn has given him. It doesn’t look good, though. Saunders looked mediocre in virtually all of his fights since his big win over David Lemieux in 2017.

Even the Billy Joe that we saw against Lemieux and Chris Eubank Jr will be out of his league against Canelo. Saunders is a spoiler, who tries to nick rounds, and that’s not going to work against Canelo. You don’t nick rounds from Canelo.

Alvarez’s popularity is smothering Saunders

“I promote both guys,” said Hearn. “I’ve delivered this absolute huge fight for both of them, the fight they all wanted.

“In Billy Joe’s case, he joined Matchroom because he wanted me to make these kinds of fights. I delivered it for an absolute s*** load of money.

“If he says he’s not bothered about the money, he’s also getting the legacy. He’s getting everything he needs. Every word for that contract [with Saunders] will be honored.

“I went to see Canelo Alvarez, and I went to see Billy Joe Saunders. Canelo Alvarez does happen to be the #1 pound-for-pound, and he is the A-side for the fight. There’s a lot of attention around him,” said Hearn.

Saunders is no name in the U.S, and that’s because he’s been matched carefully by his promoters over in the UK.

When you look at Saunders’ 30-0 record that he’s built up during his 12-year career, it’s just so obvious that he’s been steered around the talented opposition to keep him from losing.

The end result is, Saunders is getting a payday against Canelo that he hasn’t earned, and his resume is so weak that no one knows who he is in the U.S and he’s not a star in his own country.

[Thomastearns]

You can get some idea of the immense £shadow Alvarez currently casts over the business of boxing (let's face it, any sporting interests are way down the list of priorities of all of those concerned with the delivery of this theatrical production) by the fact that discussion of PED testing for this fight seems to have become consigned to the same waste disposal bin as the common flu has in this age of the Covid cash grab.

Given the history of these 2 boxers (weight bullying, Mexican beef, and needle marks, inhalers etc) you would think that any testing would be molecule tight for this Texan spectacular.