Eddie Hearn, promoter for WBO super middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders, maintains the boxer has a very good chance to overcome Mexican superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, who holds the WBC, WBA world titles.
The two champions are scheduled to collide on May 8th, at a location to be determined.
Hearn is currently working with Canelo under a two-fight agreement.
This past Saturday night at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Hearn sat ringside as Canelo dominated and stopped mandatory challenger Avni Yildirim in three rounds.
“When I’m sitting watching Canelo I think ‘how good this fighter is, he can’t be beat.’ But here comes Billy Joe Saunders, who has long said he will beat Canelo. I think if there is anyone, in the division that can stop him, it’s Saunders… because he has the style and the movement and he has something different in his head: He is not afraid,” Hearn told Erika Montoya.
In recent years, Saunders has been involved in numerous scandals – due to his controversial behavior on social media.
“He’s stupid, kind of silly, when he takes to social media, but he’s honestly a good guy, with a big heart. But he is often stupid because he gets bored, he feels like he has no major challenges. But in a fight, where he knows he is going against the best pound for pound, he knows that only by being 100 percent can he beat Canelo,” Hearn said.
“When there’s a threat, like [Andy] Lee or [David] Lemieux was, Saunders went in at 100 percent. Feeling fear guarantees that you will focus on boxing. I think he is the boxer who has more opportunities than anyone [to beat Canelo], because he is a little crazy, he is not afraid and he is elusive.”
