It's time for Billy Joe Saunders to put up or shut up as he finally gets the big fight he has been craving against SAUL 'CANELO' ALVAREZ.
For years the Hatfield man has been telling us that he just needs the big fight to show the world how good he is and they don't come much bigger than this, as he travels to Texas to take on the best fighter in the game right now, live on DAZN in the early hours of Sunday morning for UK fans.
Not only is Canelo the pound-for-found king inside the ring, he is also the most powerful boxer outside of it and he is the reason 70,000 fans are turning up to the home of the Dallas Cowboys for the first major post-pandemic event. Plenty would argue that combination makes this task bigger for the Brit than his odds of 5/1 would suggest, but he is certainly no passenger in this show and it has a real big event feel to it.
With Canelo a top price of 2/11, their contrasting odds reflect their polar opposite personalities and careers to date. The Mexican (55-1-2) has been groomed for stardom since turning professional as a 15-year-old and has been the sport's cash cow since the retirement of Floyd Mayweather, who taught the man from Guadalajara a boxing lesson in 2013. Since learning an awful lot from that sole defeat, the flame-haired star has taken on all comers from light middleweight to super middleweight, even dipping his toe into the light heavyweight division when stopping WBO champion Sergey Kovalev. There are plenty of big names on his record, none more so than the previously unbeaten Gennady Golovkin, against whom he emerged with a draw, albeit a very controversial one, and a majority decision win in a pair of modern-day classics at middleweight in 2017 and 2018.
At his best, the underdog is a master of the sweet science and as skilful a southpaw as you will find in the sport right now. Slipping in and out of range with his excellent footwork, he works well behind his sharp jab and uses lots of feints to provide a busy, and very awkward, puzzle for his opponents to solve. An excellent judge of timing and distance, he's adept at making you miss and pay with rapid flurries. On his day, he is a nightmare for anyone, including Canelo.
That means all roads lead to another victory for Canelo, and most probably by decision (13/8). He is likely to close the gap as the fight develops and as his opponent tires, so Saunders may have to soak up some punishment late on which would bring the late stoppage into play, with Canelo in rounds 9-12 available at 7/2. However, Saunders has a big heart and enough defensive know-how in order to see the final bell, after which we are likely to be waxing lyrical once again about how good the Mexican superstar is.
Three or four years ago and at middleweight, I would have given Saunders a serious chance of outboxing and dancing his way to an upset victory. However, he faces a much better version of Canelo now, is arguably not as well suited to this higher weight class and just hasn't been active enough for me to believe he will pull this one off.
Posted at 1300 BST on 07/05/21
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