Billy Joe Saunders: record, next fight and profile →
Heavyweight contender Daniel Dubois knows what it's like to suffer a serious orbital bone injury. Last year, in a high stakes WBO eliminator with Joe Joyce, the young puncher sustained a severe eye injury. After getting tagged with a hard shot in the injured area, Dubois voluntary took a knee and was counted out.
Eddie Hearn, promoter for former two-division champion Billy Joe Saunders, believes his boxer would have been badly hurt had the fight continued with Mexican superstar Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez.
Mark Tibbs, trainer for former two-division world champion Billy Joe Saunders, said it was very difficult to stop the fight with Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez. The two boxers were colliding in a unification clash for the WBC, WBO, WBA super middleweight titles.
ARLINGTON, Texas – The man who inflicted the damage to Billy Joe Saunders’ face Saturday night knows it would’ve been too dangerous for him to answer the bell for the ninth round. Saunders drew some criticism from DAZN’s announcers and fans on social media in the immediate aftermath of his technical knockout loss to Canelo Alvarez because the
Edgar Berlanga looked forward to the sport’s biggest night of the year to date, though was left with a bitter taste over the manner in which it concluded. The unbeaten super middleweight prospect was in attendance as Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez unified the WBC/WBA/WBO belts following an 8th round stoppage of unbeaten Billy Joe Saunders in front of a record-breaking crowd of 73,126 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Alvarez (56-1-2, 38KOs) managed to fracture Saunders’ right orbital bone, forcing head trainer Mark Tibbs to rescue the Brit from further punishment in calling for the fight to cease prior to the start of round nine.
Mark Tibbs, the head trainer of former two-division world champion Billy Joe Saunders, says the boxer had no vision in his damaged right eye on Saturday - prompting him to quickly stop the fight with Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez. Before a crowd of over 73,000 fans at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Canelo stopped Saunders in eight rounds to unify the WBC, WBO, WBA super middleweight titles.
Billy Joe Saunders spent the better portion of the week leading up to his bout with Canelo Alvarez doing everything he possibly could to pester his opponent. Days before the fight, Saunders insisted he was prepared to bow out of the contest if the size of the ring wasn’t increased to at least 22 feet. Organizers were forced to believe him, or at least prepare for the possibility that he was serious, and arranged for both John Ryder and Carlos Gongora to be on-site in Arlington, TX as emergency backup opponents.
Eddie Hearn, promoter for former two division world champion Billy Joe Saunders, has confirmed that the once-beaten will undergo surgery in Dallas, Texas. Hearn indicates that Saunders sustained “multiple fractures” to the area around his right eye after suffering a stoppage loss at the hands of Mexican superstar Saul "Canelo" Alvarez on Saturday night.
There is only one fight on the table, explains promoter Eddie Hearn. On Saturday night at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, the WBC, WBO, WBA super middleweight titles were unified when Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KOs) stopped Billy Joe Saunders (30-1, 14 KOs) in eight rounds.
Canelo, Saunders Fight Photos Gallery - AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas - In a unification showdown for the WBC, WBO, WBA super middleweight titles, a crowd of over 73,000 saw Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KOs) stop Billy Joe Saunders (30-1, 14 KOs) in eight rounds. (photos by Ed Mulholland)