Why Billy Joe Saunders May Be the Perfect Kryptonite for Canelo Alvarez’s Unification Hopes

If this week’s Bilbao Joe Saunders WBO super middleweight champion could know how the 168-pound title play-off play could go on Saturday, we’d have something special.

“In the end, it’s not his,” Saunders said During the DAZN “Off the Cuff” interview. “I’m not giving a shit about Canelo Alvarez, not two shit.”

Except for the fight week, it’s been Saunders (30-0, 14 KOs) with Alvarez (55-1-2, 37 KOs) trying to find out exactly where he is in a few days. the biggest fight of the British South’s career inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

If it’s your first rodeo with Saunders, things seem a bit chaotic and the 31-year-old is moving. Asked if fans, critics and opponents are equally crazy or as crazy as a fox, Saunders is part of a mental strategy that has been easy to get out of since he became a professional in 2009.

Saunders made a lot of waves on Tuesday when he didn’t show up for a press event when he and Alvarez, the one-pound king and reigning WBC / WBA champion, would face off for the cameras. He started campaigning on social media after his team got a high-scoring match with Alvarez in the hotel lobby, saying he would get out of the fight if Alvarez didn’t agree to switch to a bigger ring before Saturday.

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“Fear in this sport is a long and long way to go. There will be no control through the media,” Saunders said. “He’s not going to show up like that and he’s going to do whatever he wants because he’s the star of the show. I don’t give a shit if he’s the star of the show. Maybe he can be the star of the show on paper, but trust me, it’s not a job done in his own way. .

It was horrible enough that Alvarez, no matter the size of the ring, gave in to the request and the fight was saved. As a bigger ring is Saunders ’best chance to succeed in a misleading and awkward boxing strategy, having a power game against the biggest sports star can turn out to be a tremendous victory for Saunders or not a mental game.

“I’ve been planning this in my head and I’ve been dreaming of this since I was a little boy fighting in the front room. I’ve dreamed of this since I’ve been fighting for five or six years,” Saunders said. “I think it’s going to be the biggest upheaval in boxing history, and certainly in the last 20 years.

“I think everything you want to be won’t go through your life. It’s always what you want to be. If I want to get out of here and catch lightning, that’s it. I think [beating Alvarez] it wants to be, but what it means is a lot of sacrifice, a lot of work and a lot of dedication. “

Saunders is strong, but he’s ridiculously dependent on his bets against Alvarez. The thought, at least among sports experts, that he has enough skill and determination to confuse his lack of fear might be a trap fight for Alvarez, or at least more difficult than a style most people would realize. surface.

The problem with Saunders, though they’ve never been defeated, is that their performances have changed so regularly between excellent and pedestrian, it’s hard to determine how good he really is. And the more you listen to Saunders ’speech, the more likely he is to use his opponent at the level of the opponent or the strategic smoke screen he uses as much as he uses that constant willingness to play.

“Sometimes when you walk into the ring, no one gives the loser a chance until they start seeing him,” Saunders said. “It’s always good to see an underdog win because it’s horse racing, dogs, boxing, football – I always have an underdog root and I know I’m a current underdog. I know I’m a clear underdog.

“I love finding answers and I like to prove people wrong. I know what people will say and they will look at my performance of Martin Murray [a wide decision win in December] and compare that to his last two fights and say, ‘He has no choice in hell’. And I totally agree with people on that, I can relate to that. The December performance has no chance against Alvarez, who is 100 percent. But that performance won’t be on May 8, for sure. “

If you’re looking for a good comparison like Saunders ’deceptive skill to think that it’s not really as rigorous or playful as it really is, look no further than his stable friend and longtime friend – WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.

It was 2015, after his poor performance rose, Fury shocked the world by appearing at the peak of his career and based on his technique and other confidence in the world, dismayed by a disarming monster Wladimir Klitschko. Three years later, after a miraculous return from depression, obesity, and substance abuse, Fury made it impossible again. First, he went downstairs with Deontay Wilder at the first and second meeting to resume the draw following a bold promise. eliminated in his 2020 rematch.

Saunders has a similar level of confidence and mental strength that suggests defeating Alvarez in any way – including the decision to make and including him – is a task that only Floyd Mayweather has accomplished, the challenge is not the least scary.

That remains to be seen if it returns to another monumental grief but anyone who hasn’t realized Saunders ’ability to shake things up dramatically in one way or another against Alvarez hasn’t paid enough attention.

“For me, winning means everything. You have to be ready to win so that anything can happen at any moment and I’m always ready for that,” Saunders said. “You have to be born with that. People say I’m a fighter and I’m proud of that or that, but when you have to crawl in the ring when you’re not well trained and you know you’ve done things right you’re still very high on the game ladder. You look back and wonder if you did well. you say, where could he be now? But winning is done right away. You have to win every moment. “