Eddie Hearn remains hopeful that Billy Joe Saunders will actually fight Canelo Alvarez.
Alvarez and Saunders were supposed to fight for Saunders’ WBO super middleweight title May 2 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Their fight is supposed to be rescheduled once the coronavirus pandemic ends, but if fights are postponed too long it’s possible Alvarez will move on, straight to a third fight against Gennadiy Golovkin.
Mexico’s Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KOs) and Kazakhstan’s Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KOs) have agreed to fight a third time September 12, perhaps at the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
If a third Alvarez-Golovkin fight were to remain on that date, it’s unlikely Alvarez would face Saunders at any point after June. Otherwise, Alvarez wouldn’t be afforded nearly enough time off between bouts if he were to defeat Saunders (29-0, 14 KOs).
Hearn explained the situation in an interview with Sky Sports.
“It leaves Billy Joe at the minute with a deal in place to fight Canelo,” Hearn said. “Everything now depends on when the sport begins, because that fight was supposed to take place on Cinco de Mayo [weekend]. Now we know that’s definitely not happening.
“Will boxing return in June, July? If it does, there’s every chance that Billy Joe Saunders will fight Canelo Alvarez in that period, and the date of the Golovkin fight will be put back. I think with the whole disruption, the old Cinco de Mayo and [Mexican Independence Day] will weekend have to take a back seat.”
Alvarez and Saunders already were training for their fight in San Diego and Las Vegas, respectively, when their promoters, Oscar De La Hoya and Hearn, determined their fight could not take place May 2.
“Right now, Billy Joe Saunders is actually in Vegas, training,” Hearn said. “We were supposed to have a press conference on Monday, to announce the Canelo Alvarez fight. He’s out training with Ben Davison and Josh Taylor, who has just had his fight postponed for May 2 as well. No one knows what they’re doing.
“It’s the moment where you’ve got to stay focused, you’ve got to stay disciplined. I believe Billy Joe Saunders will fight Canelo Alvarez, as long as the boxing schedule returns this summer.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.