Canelo Alvarez: Billy Joe Saunders would've risked life had he continued
Canelo Alvarez said that Billy Joe Saunders had no choice but to remain on his stool after the eighth round Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The super middleweight tilteholders were engaged in a competitive fight when Alvarez injured Saunders’ right eye socket with a right uppercut in Round 8, which prompted the British fighter’s trainer to stop the fight before the start of Round 9.
Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KOs) said he wasn’t surprised by that decision.
“It’s hard because I saw … he broke his cheek bone,” the Mexican star said through a translator at the post-fight news conference. “I went back to the corner and told [trainer] Eddy [Reynoso] that I didn’t think he could continue. When you break your cheek bone, you risk your life. You can’t continue that way.”
Alvarez (right) injured Saunders right eye with an uppercut in Round 8 and maintained his assault. Jerome Miron / USA TODAY Sports
Saunders’ trainer, Mark Tibbs, said that his fighter’s face was “caved in” and he couldn’t see properly out of the eye, which made his decision an easy one even though Saunders had been boxing well before he was injured.
Tibbs was interviewed by Behind the Gloves.
“His eye socket was caved in and he couldn’t see,” he said. “I didn’t get the response I wanted from him. Tough business, this business. It was frustrating, really, because I felt he was growing into it.”
“… I love Billy Joe like a brother. I know his mum, I know his ad. I’ve known him for a long while. We’ll live to fight another day.”
Tibbs made it clear that decision to end the fight was his, not Saunders’.
“He never said, ‘No, that’s it.’ He left it to me,” he said. “… He took it well. He was in pain. The eye socket was gone. He was in pain. He gave it his best shot. He got injured, his leading eye, against the pound-for-pound great. He’s done himself proud.”
Alvarez was leading on all three scorecards after eight rounds, 78-74, 78-74 and 77-75. Boxing Junkie also had Alvarez leading 78-74, six rounds to two. Some boxing experts had Saunders ahead at the time the fight was stopped.
Alvarez, who entered the fight as the WBA and WBC titleholder, added Saunders’ WBO belt to his collection. He wants to fight IBF champ Caleb Plant next in an attempt to win all four major titles.