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NOTES FROM THE BOXING UNDERGROUND: CANELO-SAUNDERS, THE POSTMORTEM

By Paul Magno | May 10, 2021
NOTES FROM THE BOXING UNDERGROUND: CANELO-SAUNDERS, THE POSTMORTEM

Hey, what can I say? On Saturday night, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez set a US indoor boxing attendance record, packing over 73,000 fans into AT&T Stadium (during a worldwide pandemic) and did what he’s been doing lately--  he brutally disassembled another one of the “best” at super middleweight.

With the victory, the 30-year-old Mexican star and undisputed biggest draw in boxing added the WBO super middleweight title to his WBA and WBC belts.

As for Canelo’s opponent?

Billy Joe Saunders, who has bashed fighters in the past for “quitting,” came out to ring walk music that featured Winston Churchill’s iconic World War II “We will never surrender” quote...and then he went out and quit...in the biggest fight of his career...after round eight. 

Ironic? 

No...just reality. Saunders wasn’t as good as his hype made him out to be and he simply wasn’t on Canelo’s level. As I wrote in last Thursday’s Mail Sack column:

“Saunders is a very good fighter, but I think he falls into that category of being another British fighter critically overhyped by the British media and fans, then accepted as truth by a lazy/incompetent American press. It’s similar to Callum Smith, who I insisted for the longest time was simply not as good as everyone was hyping him up to be. And we saw the difference in levels when he got in the ring against Canelo. In the case of Saunders, his style may be more off-putting to Canelo than Smith’s was, but he’s not as elusive or as tricky as media and fans play him up to be and he definitely can’t go toe-to-toe with Alvarez. I think Canelo will figure him out fairly early and then shut him down.”

That’s not a knock on anyone. It’s just an acknowledgment that Canelo is operating at another level, significantly better than the best available to him at 168 (as of now).

Saunders was most effective when he utilized a loosey-goosey, shoot-from-the-hips style. The problem with that, however, is that it requires a lot of energy and focus that Billy Joe doesn’t have. It also kind of only works if you can draw your opponent off-kilter, off-balance, out of his game-- and Canelo was absolutely not being drawn away from his game. That last big shot of the fight, which may have busted Saunders’ eye socket, was testament to that. Saunders got fluid, Alvarez held his ground tightly and then banged him straight up the middle.

Alvarez hurt/bothered/effected Saunders with every solid punch he landed from the opening bell forward. Even if you disregarded the realities making Saunders an underdog prior to the fight, things were making themselves clear very early on that the Brit was out of his league.  He simply wasn’t on Canelo’s level and, unfortunately for his well-being, prime Canelo Alvarez doesn’t suffer fools and pretenders gladly. 

According to promoter Eddie Hearn, Saunders may have had his orbital bone broken [Saunders’ health status had not been revealed as of this writing] and will “be out for a long, long time.” 

And, yeah, I’ll come out and say that it’s hard to feel any sympathy for Billy Joe because of his long history of being a gigantic douche bag and dogging other fighters for “quitting.”

Late last year, commenting on Daniel Dubois retiring in his bout with Joe Joyce following a similar eye injury, he had this to say on the AK and Barak Show:

“Fighters get in that ring and we know what’s on the line...Before I go on one knee I’d like to go out on my back with my pulse stopped.

“You look at the greats — the eyes, the face, we get through that. That’s the path in life we choose for a living. We punch people in the face and get punched in the face.

“If my two eye sockets were broken, my jaw was broken, my teeth were out, my nose was smashed, my brain was beaten, I was not stopping until I was knocked out or worse.”

So, go away Billy Joe Saunders. You got your payday.

Now, getting back to Canelo.

It’s clear what he wants next. He wants Caleb Plant’s IBF belt in pursuit of becoming a unified four-belt champion. It should be a fairly easy fight to make, unless Plant, knowing what’s coming his way and how much is riding on him signing a contract, decides to hold out for a ridiculous amount of money. If a Plant fight doesn’t happen, there are other options out there, like John Ryder and David Lemieux. But it’s obviously the Plant fight that Alvarez wants most.

It’ll be interesting to see what the Mexican’s plans are when/if he becomes the first-ever truly unified 168 lb. champ. There’ll be some interesting options out there for him after this belt run. David Benavidez or Jermall Charlo would be awesome. Maybe John Ryder or David Lemieux as s palate-cleanser after a big fight. Maybe Chris Eubank Jr. Then, there’s the increasingly unlikely chance of a third Golovkin fight (this one at super middleweight). Demetrius Andrade tried to hustle his way to the front of the line at the post-fight press conference Saturday night, but was totally dismissed by Alvarez (If only Boo Boo were one-tenth as entertaining and as daring in the ring as he was in that press conference invasion). There’s also the possibility of a move up to 175, which Canelo, himself, said was unlikely. 

Whatever the case, I’ll reiterate what I’ve been saying about the man who I’ve criticized, complimented, criticized, and complimented in the past-- we’re now watching something special. 

We’ve seen Canelo dominate three fighters in five months-- two legitimate world champs (ranked no. 1 and no. 4, respectively at the time of their Canelo fight) and a WBC mandatory. If he beats Plant in September, that’ll make it three legit world champs and a mandatory defeated in a span of ten months. This is the stuff of modern day legend. And if Pound-for-Pound is a real thing, assessed with real, verifiable criteria, there's no reasonable argument to be made for anyone but Canelo Alvarez being no. 1 right now.

Saul Alvarez is fighting often. He’s fighting the best. He’s beating the best, decisively. And he’s not done with this quest to legacy he’s embarked upon. If you’re a smart, reasonable fight fan, you’re appreciating this remarkable run. 

Got something for Magno? Send it here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com

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