He s gone to hospital and I believe he ll have that operated on immediately. So he s going to be out for a long, long time. But he s a world class fighter who lost to the pound-for-pound number one. He s a two-weight world champion. If he wants to carry on there s some big fights out there for him. He may feel he has got to a stage where he s been there, he s done it, he s seen it all. We ll back him 100%.
By the time Saunders is cleared to fight again, there s a strong chance Canelo will be the undisputed super-middleweight champion of the world. All that remains for the man that now holds the WBA, WBC and WBO belts (as well as The Ring s recognition as the lineal champion) is the IBF belt currently held by American Caleb Plant.
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Canelo Alvarez ‘CAVED IN’ Billy Joe Saunders’ eye as trainer Mark Tibbs reveals what was said in the corner after round eight Joe Coleman Updated: 9th May 2021, 5:53 pm
Billy Joe Saunders’ head trainer Mark Tibbs admitted he was left with no choice but to pull the Brit out after a gruelling injury caused by Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. Getty
2 Mark Tibbs had no option but to pull Billy Joe Saunders out of the fight against Canelo
More than 73,000 people were in attendance for the highly-anticipated fight, which began with Saunders exploding out of the blocks with a ton of energy, but failing to land a scoring shot.
Canelo Alvarez secured an eighth round TKO over Billy Joe Saunders, who was unable to continue after an injury in Texas on Saturday Photo Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom
In front of over 73,000 fans at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez added Billy Joe Saunders’ WBO title to his WBC, WBA ‘Super’ and Ring Magazine Super Middleweight crowns with an absorbing win.
The gallant Saunders (30-1, 14 KOs) was forced to retire in his corner at the end of eight rounds after he was caught with an uppercut from Canelo (56-1-2, 38 KOs) towards the end of the round.