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USA Today via Reuters

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USA Today via Reuters

On May 8, Billy Joe Saunders locked horns with the toughest opponent of his career in Canelo Alvarez. The pair fought for the unified super-middleweight championship, and the Mexican won this fight fair and square. The underdog, Saunders, gave his best shot against Alvarez, but the latter’s skillsets were too much to handle for the Brit.

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As a result, this contest ended tragically after round 8, as ‘Superb’ couldn’t continue further.

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Recently, Saunders’ ex-promoter, Frank Warren, who was in an interview with SecondsOut, spoke about what went wrong for the former WBO super-middleweight champion.

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My only concern all the way through was Billy being strong at super-middleweight,” said Warren.

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He continued, “Billy’s a middleweight. Billy struggled with his weight because of the way he lived and the problems that he’s had in the past. But he’s a middleweight. That’s what he is, a middleweight fighter. He’s not a super-middleweight.” 

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The fight began on a pleasant note for Saunders because Canelo was in a defense mode. But as the latter switched gears and moved forward with his shots, it became difficult for the Hertfordshire native. Despite that, Saunders kept enough composure to stun Canelo with his power strikes.

As the fight progressed, Saul Alvarez only got comfortable, as he decoded ‘Superb‘s fighting style. He ended things with a brutal punch to the eye in round 8. The blow caused some serious injuries to the southpaw’s eye, resulting in multiple fractures.

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What’s next for Billy Joe Saunders?

With a loss to Canelo Alvarez, Billy Joe Saunders ended up on the losing vertical for the very first time in his professional stint.

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Yet, looking back at his performance, he can only be happy and extremely proud. Furthermore, taking notes of his mistakes in this fight might help him in escalating his boxing career when he returns.

Also, if he wishes to reclaim 168 lbs gold, Saunders will have enormous roadblocks like Callum Smith, David Benavidez, and more. Hence, it’ll be interesting to see if the 31-year-old recovers and re-enters the squared circle soon.

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What do you make of Warren’s comments on Billy Joe Saunders? Do you think ‘Superb’ should move to the middleweight division?

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Prathamesh Singh Chauhan

2,784 Articles

Prathamesh Singh Chauhan is a Boxing Author at EssentiallySports. He is a graduate from the International Institute of Sports Management who combines his love for sports, particularly combat sports, and his flair for writing and analysis to help him in his day-to-day work. He has prior professional experience with sporting organizations such as Star Sports, Khelo India, and NBA. Chauhan explores and analyses a sport he has been following ever since Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte engaged in a duel in 2015. He adores old-school punchers like Manny Pacquiao, as well as modern-day greats such as 'The Gypsy King'. In his downtime, he engages in rigorous workouts to cater to his love for fitness.

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