It was hard to tell how much damage Billy Joe Saunders had after Canelo Alvarez had unleashed an extremely powerful uppercut to the Englishman’s right eye during their middleweight unification fight. Over 73,000 spectators in the AT&T Stadium in Texas, many in the arena believed that a significant blow had indeed been landed.
All It Takes Is One Punch
It was only after both fighters came out of their clinch that the worst-case scenario for Saunders had been confirmed. The 30-year-old’s eye closed up within seconds and his cheek appeared to be slightly caved in. Admirably, that didn’t stop Saunders from finishing the rest of the round before heading back to his corner to tell his trainer Mark Tibbs that he could no longer see. Team Saunders was left with no other option than to inform the referee that the Englishman was unable to continue. Jubilant scenes then followed in the ring as Alvarez was awarded the WBO super middleweight title by way of TKO. Meanwhile, Saunders was immediately transported to a local hospital in Dallas for emergency surgery as this post-fight report from talksport.com officially confirms.
It was a harsh end for Saunders, but he knows as much as anyone how tough this division can be. That’s not to say that the 30-year-old was ahead in the bout, all three judges had Alvarez winning the fight at the time of the stoppage, but he was boxing intelligently and avoiding most of the Mexican’s power shots.
Billy Joe Saunders ain’t backing down 😤#CaneloSaunders pic.twitter.com/3urLouxZDz
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) May 9, 2021
Ultimately, the problem was that Alvarez found his range midway through the eighth round to devastating effect. Saunders wasn’t the first and won’t be the last boxer to be beaten by Alvarez given that the Mexican is altogether in a different league and perhaps the greatest pound-for-pound boxer to have ever lived.
Indeed, Alvarez remains at the summit of the sport and continues his march to greatness. You just have to look at the predictions being made on the best sports betting sites and guides to online sports betting in 2021 which can be found here at asiabet.org, to understand the rarefied atmosphere that the Mexican is headed for. Indeed, all the latest tips and odds on these dedicated pages for betting point toward the Mexican winning his upcoming bout with Caleb Plant and achieving ultimate supremacy in the 168-pound division.
How Does Saunders Get Back to the Top?
Alvarez’s dream is tantalizingly close. He can see the top of the mountain whilst Saunders has lost his footing at the crest, resulting in a fall that takes him not quite back down to base camp, but not close enough to see the peak either.
Given the extent of his injuries, three fractures of his right eye socket to be exact, it seems certain that we won’t see Saunders participating in any upcoming events for the rest of 2021.
A return in 2022 is in all probability the best-case scenario as it normally takes several months to fully recover from a fractured orbital bone, but it is only then that the real healing can begin.
Best wishes to Billy Joe Saunders.
That was some performance – get well soon champ 🥊 pic.twitter.com/yEmPxkI5wH
— Boxing on BT Sport 🥊 (@BTSportBoxing) May 9, 2021
That’s primarily down to the fact that Saunders won’t only be hurting physically but also emotionally after a crushing defeat like this. The 30-year-old is a proud man, and this loss would have come as a shock as his demeanor in the build-up to the fight didn’t give the impression that he had contemplated losing at any stage. Crucially, finding the desire to get back into the ring after such an ordeal will take time and it wouldn’t be outside the realms of possibility to imagine that a retirement announcement could follow in the future. Although, the middleweight did earn in the region of $8 million during his fight against Alvarez which may make walking away from the sport slightly easier.
⭐ He went into the lion’s den and dared to be great in front of 70,000 fans.
You’re still one of the best fighters in the world @bjsaunders_. You will be back 💪
📸: @MatchroomBoxing #CaneloSaunders #SaundersCanelo #BillyJoeSaunders #Boxing pic.twitter.com/h7VH5FJvMF
— MTK Global Boxing (@MTKGlobal) May 9, 2021
With that being said, Saunders’ profile within the sport has also been raised to a level he has never experienced before in his career. That is the one consolation from going toe to toe with Canelo Alvarez, even if he does end up shattering your eye, the world tunes in to watch. One could even go as far as to say that Saunders’ defeat in Texas has done more for the price of his stock than any win in America has ever done for him.
Indeed, the door is far from a jar, in fact, it is wide open for Saunders if he wants to return to the sport. It is now up to him to decide whether he feels he has unfinished business in the middleweight division or if the time has come to walk away.