saftey clause no1 i know we said one American judge one mexican and one English well you see billy its for your own saftey we cant allow you an english judge it would be much safer gor you to let us handle it also we paying you less as no crowds well just a few 70 thousand dont you worry clenboys getting paid less to ummmmmmm is this the level playing field floyd talks about
It's tempting to watch the Lemeiux fight and try and convince oneself that Saunders is going to turn on some kind of masterclass. However Canelo is a far, far better fighter than Lemeuix and BJS has done very little in the ring since that night to suggest he can match, let alone exceed that level of performance. The elephant in the room is BJS hasn't looked at all convincing at SMW. He's up there for two reasons, he cannot live the life to get to 160, or at least not whilst passing the PED tests and Canelo and the big money is at 168. He doesn't have much power that I can tell at this weight but his mobility has suffered, he doesn't look as slick in my view. He will need to be at his best, Canelo will need to have an off night and the judges will need to have been kidnapped and replaced by gypsy clones.
Khan set the blueprint for beating Canelo until glass was hit. The plank was a sitting duck for any elite fighter and I expect BJS to fight similar to his tactics v Eubank Jnr. The question is can he maintain his movement for 12 rounds to get a good shafting on the cards?
Had Khan just stuck to the plan rather than doing a Herol Graham against Jackson who knows how different the boxing world could look right now. He just needed to stay elusive because that's the only way he could have won given the strengths he had and given the advantages his opponent had ie. Catch weight taylored to weaken Khan and the use of Clen which ended up giving him a criminally big weight advantage on the night. It was more like a light heavy against a welter who had failed to make weight, it was an absolute joke. If that fight was at 147, no catchweight, no Clen, I honestly think that Khan would have got to the end of the ninth round knowing that as long as he was sensible only bent judging would rob him of the win. That fight ended his career as a player.
Just watched the interview with Billy's old man. It's really no surprise is it that a few things are starting to fall apart behind the scenes? If you offered Hearn a first round Canelo KO he would snap your hand off all day. He wants to dominate the sport, only superstars like Canelo will help him to do that. He won't let a little thing like loyalty to a fighter get in the way. Also worth pointing out that if MTK are this super management outfit the fighters make them out to be, they'll get thigs sorted. I hope they get a camera close when Eddie and Billy's old man come face to face if this all goes sour.
I never thought I'd say this but it's a moral win for boxing if Billy Joe Saunders beats Saul Alvarez, I've long had enough of it all now, way too many cards and clauses have been stacked in his favour and it's long overdue that a spanner is thrown in the works of this machine.
I'm surprised at Eddie incurring the wrath of people associated with MTK. Has he forgotten what happened to Jamie Moore and the Hutch crime dynasty in Ireland?. These people play for keeps. Have MTK fallen out with Saunders? MTK is a serious outfit. They're always very loyal to their fighters. When you're with them, you're with them. The whole thing is very odd.
Well yes and no. BJS is naturally a bigger man than Canelo. Yes Billy Joe has lost speed at 168, but so has Canelo. 168 is too big for both men, but it's less too big for Bill than Canelo. A few years ago these two could have met at 154, and it would have been a classic!
Easy to get roped in to that sort of plan vs Khan as you know you just have to land clean and he’s gone. You could see from the 3rd onwards it was only going to go one way. Khan was moving a bit less and getting a bit greedy.
IMO the 'blueprint' for beating Canelo is pretty obvious, but executing on it is another thing entirely... 1) Make him fight for every second of every round. Canelo has always had questionable stamina, and likes to fight at his own tempo. His rythym has to be disrupted. 2) Canelo's chin is rock solid, so work the body to exacerbate the stamina issues, especially for the later rounds 3) Movement, angles and a commanding jab (see Lara, Kovalev and Golovkin all to some degree) 4) 100% concentration to avoid the counters, with feints and traps to 'counter the counters' So, whilst it seems simple, it's not easy gameplan to execute on. Point 2 especially is something I'm very perplexed as to why Golovkin especially did not go to the body more often - I can only assume it was respect for Canelo's excellent uppercut counters; which get's back to the 'executing the gameplan' conundrum. Saunders has a good jab, and he has the angles and movement skills to build on. But as other's have said, Saunders has his own stamina issues, and does not anything close to the Calzaghe-like engine necessary to exceute point 1. Can Saunders work the body at all to make Canelo feel it in the later rounds? Can he use his own better footwork to keep Canelo from establishing his own rythym? Does he have enough pop in his jab to gain Canelo's respect to stop Saul from just walking him down? I don't think Saunders has ever been dedicated enough to execute that kind of gameplan - this is well beyond what he showed against Lemmy. Maybe as some fighters have shown, that they raise their game when faced with the best, but it's a real tall order for Suanders IMO.
Just watched the Lara fight with Canelo. I had Lara winning 7 rounds. I think BJS can pull off a Lara type performance. Whether he gets the decision is another matter.
Canelos defense will play a big role in the fight. Canelos defense is very tight. His guard is excellent, and his head movement is exceptional. On top of all that, even if you can get shots on target, he is almost impossible to hurt, with a head like a concrete block and a neck like a bull. Canelos defense and ability to take a punch are huge obstacles for any opponent to overcome. All in all its a huge ask for bjs. A huge ask.
