When Billy Joe Saunders walked out against Canelo Alvarez on May 8, he had no idea that his 30-0 14 KOs) track record will come to a stop.
While the fighter acknowledged Canelo’s strength and prowess, his own track record put him in a position where he was all impressive by himself, enough perhaps to even make an impression on Alvarez.
After all, Canelo is a fighter who only takes fights that provide any real challenge to him. He has been shifting weight divisions with the sole purpose of meeting new opponents, winning their belts, and taking on new challenges, but Alvarez is a legend precisely because he has been training inexhaustibly and boxing since he was at least 15.
Why the silence? Billy Joe Saunders’ stats came to (30-1 14 KOs) post that May 8 fight and Canelo took him down with swift punches that damaged his eye.
In the wake of the fight, Saunders had nothing to say to fans, and boxing loyalists were indeed a little disappointed. Understandably, he had time to recover as his fractured orbital bone was not something to ignore.
Recently, though, Saunders posted a video in which he addressed his fans, saying: “To all my fans, thank you very much for all the support over the last few weeks.
“I have not been in line to answer you all—many to answer to. But thank you very much, people. God bless you all.”
The defeat to Alvarez, while completely dispiriting, will not crush Saunders’ will to continue fighting and taking on new opponents, similar to what Canelo is doing.
In fact, he is expected to return and take on new opponents. Eddie Hearn, Saunders’ promoter, is already talking up a fight between him and Chris Eubank Jr, which will give boxing fans another great boxing fight lined up.
However, for Saunders to truly move past this loss to Canelo, he will have to analyze and understand why he lost.
Was it a flaw in his fighting style that Canelo was able to exploit, or was it something else completely?
One common critic has been his posture which makes him lean forward and exposes him to punches more often than not.
