With all the fanfare and debates about ring sizes and awkward handshakes at the press conference fully behind us, super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez and undefeated Billy Joe Saunders will finally touch gloves on Saturday and figure out control of the 168-pound division.
At the heart of the fight at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas is whether Saunders (30-0-1, 14 KOs) is just one more challenge in a series of necessary hurdles that Alvarez (55-1- 2) need to conquer, 37 KOs) to become the undisputed champion of the division, or whether the brash UK paw is actually much more than the main protagonist in a potential trap fight scenario for the pound-for-pound best fighter in boxing (8 p.m. on DAZN, Join Now).
If the chaos of fight week taught us anything, then it seems that Saunders, the reigning WBO champion, brings with it a certain level of mental toughness, sheer courage, and the cunning ability of an infinite troll to present a challenge that is for the youngest Alvarez will be unique to opponents – from Rocky Fielding and Sergey Kovalev to Callum Smith and Avni Yildirim – who, given Alvarez’s sublime prowess, turned out to be much more Lamb than Leo.
“I’ve boxed since I was five and was dragged into gypsy camps,” Saunders said during the last press conference on Thursday. “We can all have the tough talk when we grow up, but I’m here for a reason. There’s no reason for me to be apart from this other than to win.
“It’s not about fame, it’s not about anything else, it’s not about advertising. Winning. And I don’t think he’s been around to winning anyone in a very, very long time. Lots of people show up, fly Pick up checks and they’re out, but we haven’t had anyone with heart, soul and IQ that I’ll bring to the ring on Saturday night to win. ”
Can’t you get enough boxing and MMA? Get the latest in martial arts from two of the best in the business. Subscribe to Morning Kombat with Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell For the best of analysis and in-depth news, including an early look at Alvarez vs. Saunders below.
Having the courage to get the job done is one thing, as is whether or not Saunders can prove he’s skillful enough. One thing is for sure, his style is based on the tenets of making his opponents look bad thanks to his vanity – which in theory should be backed up by his ability to trade Alvarez to agree to a larger ring after threatening to withdraw from the Fight on Tuesday.
Eddy Reynoso, the architect and coach behind Alvarez’s superstar rise, has repeated his fighter by showing Saunders’ ability the respect he deserves, and Reynoso said, “He’s a great fighter, a two-time champion for a reason who knows how to defend. ” and move. ”
Although Alvarez seemed upset enough about Ring-Gate to mention that this is just one of many excuses he believes Saunders has already made and refuses to shake hands with him after the press conference, there’s no reason to believe that Alvarez will take the fight lightly.
The only point of contention Alvarez seemed to have was media comparisons over the challenge Saunders posed for similar difficult technical fights against Austin Trout and Erislandy Lara that Alvarez had previously led as a junior middleweight division.
“”[Saunders] is a great fighter, he has a lot of skills and he’s a south paw too, but I’m not the same fighter I was six or seven years ago. I’ll show it on Saturday, “said Alvarez.” I’ve been involved in a lot of big fights and this is just another day in the office. I come to win and boxing is my life. I come here to win. ”
More Alvarez against Saunders
Taken at face value, Alvarez’s words could be interpreted as a stab at Saunders to reveal the experience difference between the two fighters, especially when it comes to improving their game when the platform and lights are at their biggest and brightest. Nobody here denies the Alvarez story in this regard, and this is no different: a settlement battle and a main pay-per-view event that takes place in a dome in front of over 70,000 fans.
Saunders seemed to feel the heat of the comment enough to reply later.
“I’ve been against the crowd before,” Saunders said. “I’ve traveled to the Olympics as an amateur, where there is no lack of pressure on the shoulders when you face millions of people. There is also additional pressure for both of us because neither of us wants it.” Go home the loser. ”
Given Alvarez’s reputation as the sport’s biggest draw and most popular elite name, Saunders openly wondered for part of Thursday if the success had changed his opponent’s work ethic, especially when he “forgot where he was from and all the tough things forgot who brought him. ” to where he is. ”
But regardless of how well Saunders actually fights, the debate is whether he can make a fair decision on it. Time and again, Alvarez has a long history of exploiting doubt in close fights like Trout, Lara, Gennadiy Glolovkin (twice) and Daniel Jacobs.
The Texas Combative Sports Program has appointed veterans Tim Cheatham, Max De Luca, and Glenn Feldman as the three men tasked with determining a winner should the bout go the distance.
“As long as I am treated fairly – and I am very happy with the jury, they are very experienced and I am sure that everything will be fair – I am looking forward to a very, very good fight and definitely the win,” said Saunders.
While Alvarez vs. Saunders will get all the attention on Saturday night (and rightly so), there are a handful of fights to fill out the undercard. WBO junior flyweight champion Elwin Soto will compete against Katsunari Takayama in the co-main event. Aspiring prospects Souleymane Cissokho will face Kieron Conway in the super welterweight division, and heavyweight Frank Sanchez will face Nagy Aguilera in the first major card match.
Combat card, odds of winning
Odds of winning through William Hill Sportsbook
- Canelo Alvarez (c) -800 versus Billy Joe Saunders (c) +550, super middleweight title
- Elwin Soto -1000 (c) versus Katsunari Takayama +650, WBO junior flyweight title
- Souleymane Cissokho -440 against Kieron Conway +340, great world weights
- Frank Sanchez -3000 versus Nagy Aguilera +1300, heavyweights
Prediction / selection
Despite being the rightful underdog, this is a fight Saunders can win. He’s big enough, brave enough, and has the mix of a strong amateur pedigree and a cumbersome approach to make Alvarez seizures possible. But he’ll likely have to do one of two things to get the job done: throw the equivalent of a perfect baseball game when it comes to his technical approach to boxing, or surprise everyone by hurting Alvarez.
Granted, neither scenario is easy to pull off against Alvarez, who has filled all the gaps in his game to become a truly well-rounded master of the sport who has used his power well enough to be a knockout threat at all times the fight.
Saunders may have the tools and intangibles to get the job done, but will the judges reward his artful strategy, in particular, should Saunders choose to end the fight and move Alvarez to the chase? And if he has a plan B for winning the fight, should Alvarez make the early adjustments necessary to cope with his clumsy style and strong mastery of distance?
What could be a problem for Saunders in the end is that outside of his foot speed there is really no trace that fighters can safely take when trying to uncover a potential weakness. As a junior middleweight division, Alvarez previously made up for his lack of elite movement by moving his upper body so well defensively from the tight position and being a precise counter-puncher. Yet now that he’s put on so much, even that weakness has largely been eliminated, as Alvarez is so fast compared to his 168 pound pounds.
Saunders will have to set traps, miss Alvarez and make him pay – and be able to do all three consistently so that he can claim victory. But he also has to be more active than Lara to show that he is the better technical boxer against Alvarez without giving away rounds for inactivity. However, the more active Saunders opens up a chance for Alvarez to counter him and score big hits for the body in hopes of slowing him down.
How the terms of this dance are ultimately dictated remains the most interesting question that needs to be answered. Expect Saunders to live up to expectations by making it a competitive fight by getting Alvarez fit. Still, his level of activity remains an issue, especially when Alvarez makes the first adjustment.
Saunders may ultimately be forced to come to terms with the knowledge that he was good enough to rival Alvarez on that level and had an argument in conversation that maybe he had done enough. The problem is that the judges are unlikely to agree, and not because they’re corrupt, but simply because Alvarez landed the cleanest, revealing blows in the fight.
At the end of the day, that’s still important.
Selection: Alvarez via UD12
Who will win Canelo against Saunders? And which plus-money prop is a must have? Head to SportsLine now to see Brandon Wise’s best bets for Saturday, all from the CBS martial arts specialist who survived Jamel Herring’s win, and find out.