Against the grain, I am picking Saunders to beat Alvarez

Great to see Bailey back, but i agree it's hard to see how Saunders wins. The only way you beat Canelo is by knocking him out. And he's sturdy as a log. Beterbiev could do it, but not many others. Would love to see him in a war with Callum Johnson, that would be a brilliant match up, a kind of battle of pork pies. Saunders hopefully hurts him though. A devastating low blow would be a good strategy

 

Won't be suprised.

 

Hard to bet on BJS when all you got is the Lemieux fight to go by. His resume is paper thin.

 

I see it as this is Saunders big big chance to get a defining win, i do not think Saunders at outset at least is here just to hear the final bell and pick up a decent purse.

Any failings/under performances Saunders has shown previously have not dented his winning record, however tonight anything but his A game will result in him losing.

I do wish the fight was a couple of years earlier but it is what it is, and i still say Saunders prevails (if it is a level playing field of course).

At end of the day Saunders has had full training camp, no contract clauses to impede him, and appears up for the fight, so no excuses possible re the build up.

Billy Joe has talked the talk and now will have 36 minutes to walk the walk to get the win, (as long as ring walk attire not excessively heavy of course).

Whatever the outcome here's hoping it is without controversy and the best fighter on the night gets the win.

 

I do not think Saunders has the offense to get seven rounds off of Canelo. I do think he will win some early rounds and last the distance, his defense (upper body and head movement) are excellent. But I don't think he blends his offense with his defense all that well, at times Saunders is TOO defensive. Saunders defense is better than GGG and he is fleet of foot. But GGG offense >>> Saunders offense. And even GGG couldn't win either fight on the cards.

In all honesty, I don't think we are in for a great fight. Most likely we get Saunders moving the majority of the fight with Canelo on his front foot. The pressing of the action/aggression (even if Canelo is missing) will win the rounds for Canelo, probably wider than it should be.

 

Saunders is a live underdog. Slightly favoring Canelo because of experience.

However, yes I agree with the other part. I used to love givng big epic breakdowns of fighters records, styles, fight predictions. After several years of a side b side money arguments on the forum and now most fighters avoiding each other it's waned my appetite for real boxing conversations. This fight is a bump up from the regular predetermined fights so I'm slightly more excited than usual. If it's a worthy fight I might give a post fight breakdown.

 

Canelo is -700 for this fight. The bookies are rarely wrong. It'll be a rout and he'll finish him in the late rounds.

 

I've been favouring BJS since Canelo struggled against Khan, a fast mover and Billy is a southpaw with a far better defense than Khan. On the other hand Canelo has evolved into a great fighter and he proved how tough he is vs GGG.

I can actually picture Billy schooling Canelo, but Canelo has proved me wrong a couple of times.

 

Can't see it.. let's put the fight into perspective.. these two are basically two MWs fighting at 168.. a division that's been in disarray for a while now.. both men are obviously on the gear, one way more so than the other I suspect .. One man has fought consistently at world level for years and the other has mainly fought at 'Euro' level .. It's an interesting clash of styles & a fight that probably should have happened a couple of years ago but Saunders is more known for his out of ring antics today than anything else.. i'm only watching it to see if Alvarez struggles or even loses, not because I'm a huge fan of Saunders LOL.. it's not that big of a fight really, as talented as Saunders is his resume is incredibly thin, & he's underachieved in the sport in my opinion.. the belt he won at 168 is a trinket title won in a fight with an opponent no one has heard of.. if Alvarez wins then fair play but let's not act like Saunders is some special SMW.. he has zero legacy at 168. People are probably all over this fight all of a sudden because we have been so starved for good match ups lately..

 

There's a left hook BJS throws I think as he turns and if Canelo doesn't see it coming then it could hurt.

Other than that Canelo will be almost impossible to hurt.