ARLINGTON, Texas The prefight antics between Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders have given their upcoming title clash a bit of normalcy for a boxing fight week, compared to recent events.
Saunders threatened a boycott of Saturday s super middleweight unification bout at AT&T Stadium over the size of the ring they will fight in. His camp chided Alvarez early and often, whether it was in the hotel lobby or at Tuesday s faceoff, when Saunders stepped toward Alvarez while wearing a blue Versace robe with gold trim.
But those shenanigans pale in comparison to the circus surrounding the current era of YouTuber boxing. Recently, the sport s most visible cards have been headlined by the likes of Jake and Logan Paul, the brothers who have leveraged their social media followings into pay-per-view boxing spectacles.
Can anyone conquer Canelo?
Elliot Worsell gathers evidence from experts regarding the size of the task facing Billy Joe Saunders against Canelo Alvarez
THERE can’t be many more pointless how-to guides than the How to Beat Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez guide Floyd Mayweather authored and published in September 2013. That book, though read widely, appears as gobbledygook to most who attempt to follow it and has long been in need of both translation and a reprint.
The truth is, no matter how much time is spent studying it, nobody can understand it and nobody can put its lessons into practice. Moreover, nobody can become Floyd Mayweather and nobody is likely to confuse the Canelo Alvarez defeated by Mayweather in 2013 with the Canelo Alvarez wreaking havoc today.
Amir Khan believes that Canelo Alvarez will stop Billy Joe Saunders in six rounds on Saturday Photo Credit: Action Images/Andrew Couldridge/Michelle Farsi/Matchroom
Amir Khan believes that Billy Joe Saunders will provide Canelo Alvarez with some problems early on, but expects the Mexican to stop him in the sixth round on Saturday night.
Khan, a former Light Welterweight world champion moved up to Middleweight to challenge the 30-year-old for the WBC world title and had early success before being brutally stopped in the sixth round in Las Vegas.
The 34-year-old anticipates that Saunders will provide the four-weight world champion a stern test in the early rounds, but has warned his compatriot of the speed and power of Alvarez, who has not tasted defeat since a first and only loss at the hands of Floyd Mayweather Jr in 2013.
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How to beat Canelo Alvarez? Easier said than done
Canelo Alvarez is unbeaten in his last 14 fights, 10 of those were title fights.
Frank Franklin II/AP
Yes, Canelo Alvarez has been beaten once. He s been in close fights and has been in trouble more than once. But if there s a boxer who could be considered invincible at this time, the middleweight and super middleweight world titleholder checks all the boxes.
Alvarez (55-1-2, 37 KOs), 30, of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, who faces Billy Joe Saunders (30-0, 14 KOs), 31, of Hertfordshire, England, on Saturday, hasn t lost a fight since dropping a unanimous decision against Floyd Mayweather in 2013. That s almost eight years ago.