Canelo Alvarez: ‘When you break your cheekbone you can risk your life, Billy Joe Saunders couldn’t continue’

Canelo Alvarez

NO ONE had a better view of the damage Billy Joe Saunders took on Saturday night than Canelo Alvarez. The Mexican realised at once that the Briton would not be able to fight on past their eighth round at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

โ€œItโ€™s hard because I saw when he broke his cheekbone and I went back to the corner and I told Eddy [Reynoso, his trainer] that I didnโ€™t think he could continue. When you break your cheekbone you can risk your life and you canโ€™t continue that way,โ€ Alvarez said. โ€œI knew what I did with that punch.โ€

Promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed that Saunders would undergo surgery Sunday. Itโ€™s thought that Saundersโ€™ eye socket broke in three places.

The build up to the fight had been fractious, with the camps quarrelling over the size of the ring. Alvarez settled all doubts by allowing Billy Joe the 22 foot ring heโ€™d requested and by scoring the stoppage that Canelo himself had predicted. With the win Alvarez added the WBO belt to the WBC and WBA super-middleweight titles he already held. ย 

โ€œIn the end the facts speak louder than words. Iโ€™ve been in big fights, I just had to stay focused, do my job,โ€ Canelo reflected. โ€œI love boxing and this is what I love to do.โ€

โ€œNot much [further] to say, heโ€™s a great fighter,โ€ Alvarez added. โ€œIโ€™m glad he took the fight and weโ€™re going to continue to make history.

โ€œRight now Iโ€™m really happy with what we have achieved and now Iโ€™m going to celebrate with my family. You already know what I want, hopefully we can get that fight going so I can unify the titles.โ€

canelo alvarez
Michelle Farsi/Matchroom

It is a good day then to be Caleb Plant. The American holds the IBF belt, the last super-middleweight title the Mexican superstar needs to add to his collection. That is the fight Alvarez wants next. If Plant is amenable, the negotiations ought not to be overly complex. Alvarez is a free agent and can choose the broadcaster for his next fight. The FOX network and streaming service DAZN are both expected to make โ€œhugeโ€ bids for it.

โ€œHeโ€™s free to make the fights he wants to make where he wants those fights to happen. So for me I think itโ€™s a very straightforward process and I think that process should start immediately and I donโ€™t see any complications with his position,โ€ Eddie Hearn said.

โ€œWe have this goal now, thatโ€™s the short term goal, hopefully we can make that fight happen. If that fight doesnโ€™t happen then hopefully we can continue to make history in other ways,โ€ Alvarez noted.

One person whom Canelo wonโ€™t be fighting next is Demetrius Andrade. That didnโ€™t stop the American from gatecrashing Alvarezโ€™s post-fight press conference to try to talk up a fight for himself. Andrade is an alphabet champion; he holds the WBOโ€™s middleweight belt but hasnโ€™t fought anyone close to being regarded as the number one in the division.

Canelo shook his head at Andrade’s intervention and laughed. โ€œYou fight with nobody,โ€ he said. โ€œGet the f**k out of here.โ€

Watch the replay on DAZN. Available for only ยฃ1.99 in the UK

Security had to expel an agitated Andrade from the press conference.

Alvarez is determined to become Mexicoโ€™s first undisputed champion in the four-belt era. This latest unification triumph was a spectacular occasion in front of 73,000 supporters, an indoor record for boxing in the US.

โ€œI happy and grateful with the fans, happy to come back to normal and break records. Even in a pandemic they came out and supported me and Iโ€™m really grateful for that,โ€ Canelo said. โ€œItโ€™s beautiful to fight here, itโ€™s beautiful to fight in Texas, the people support me a lot and Iโ€™m really thankful for that.

โ€œIโ€™m going to continue to make history and represent my country.โ€

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