The Andy Lee win was 2015... Come 2020 that’s a long time ago to cling to a performance for a middleweight who doesn’t live the life
Without wanting to spoil the excuses party, I’ve always found travelling west to be a lot easier than east. Jet lag when you fly to America is always non existent in my experience compared to the same journey coming back. Also, he’s not a tourist. He’s a professional world champion athlete. He shouldn’t be getting any jetlag issue whether he’s fighting in California or Christchurch.
Throw in the fact that it was Lee at the twilight of his career and all of a sudden it falls into the Lemmy win bracket of overhyped performances. Don't get me wrong they were good wins, you can't dine out on them forever though and Alvarez, who he wants next, has had more wins, bigger wins, in the last 12 months than those 2 fights.
This. We’re in danger of missing the time since these fights happened. More recently than Saunders getting an MD over a nearly retired Lee we have Canelo beating the world class Jacobs, going twenty four rounds with Golovkin and knocking out Kovalev.
I agree “visa issues” is pretty pathetic but we know how professional he isn’t...hence the nasal spray incident and coming in out of shape throughout his career. The guy is an idiot... But I’ve had horrendous jet lag from Washington, let alone LA (not as a tourist so actually had to be able to function).
i do genuinely like billy joe , but when your best wins are lee eubank and lemieux ... lee was stopped by brian vera and chavez jr years before saunders , eubanks has been toyed with by groves who then looked finished and retired , and lemieux was stopped by rubio and beat by alcine who brian rose beat , any talk of elite for me is a million miles away , i dont think hes fought anyone top 3 in any weight hes been for his entire career , could argue lee but at the time martinez was lineal , and chavez stopped him . also he dropped lee twice if memory serves and clung onto a md .The master boxer card has been crazily overhyped similar to fury. all that being said styles make fights , and canelo struggled badly vs lara trout cotto , and was shutout by floyd , all lighter men who box well goin backwards and wouldnt put it past billy joe to pull it off .
The issue with those who Canelo struggled with is that in the Floyd case, the fight was at 152 which was a massive disadvantage for Canelo. Saunders is now a champion at 168 and Canelo has just become a champion at 175 so we’re evidently not going to have those weight issues again. I think he clearly beat Cotto. He did struggle with Lara, but I still think he won a close fight. And again, let’s not dismiss Lara as an Akavov or a Coceres; he’s miles better than those. If Saunders had beaten Lara that would by a considerable distance be his greatest career achievement.
I remember Canelo's face was like thunder during his fight with Floyd. For all Canelo wanted it badly, he knew deep down that he couldn't beat him. Regardless of the weight, Floyd dominated him in 11 rounds and landed twice as many punches. Floyd might be the greatest ever, so fair enough on that one.
Alvarez was still very green when he fought Mayweather Jnr, he's a far more complete fighter these days.
Just for those who mocked Saunders for fighting on the you tubers undercard, I’ve just seen the purses! **** me. $750,000 he got.
If Saunders doesn't get the Canelo fight next then I do hope they have a good plan B for his next opponent, he simply has to be in a big fight next. He won a world title 4 years ago and has only had 1 win since worth bragging about and that's it. Too many poor/average performances against poor/average opposition. I loved his performance against Lemieux, and that's the Saunders I would like to watch but that night is becoming a distant memory and that's the last time he impressed. What was that 2 or 3 years ago? I want to see him fight somebody relevant and see what Saunders we get. Maybe that will get the best out of him and give him the motivation maybe he's been lacking, but I can see him losing his next fight if it's against a live dog. Saunders has zero momentum and never has had since he's been a world title holder. If it does turn out to be Canelo next then I have to agree with the ones saying Saunders gets destroyed. At one stage, probably after the Lemieux, fight I'd have said Saunders has a chance against Canelo, but compare their two careers over the last couple of years and I think the difference in Momentum would be telling and think it would end with KO loss for Saunders.
There's people saying Canelo taking Billy next would be a climb down, given Billy's inactivity. But maybe from Canelo's viewpoint he needs crossing off as an unbeaten who will come back with the naysayers to haunt him, should he not do it. It works both ways and both get what they want.
