Interviews
Billy Joe Saunders is pushing back against claims that he walked away from fighting Canelo Alvarez
Billy Joe Saunders has rejected claims that he quit following his defeat to Canelo Alvarez and insisted he is determined to continue his career despite suffering an eye injury.
Saunders was unsuccessful when he dethroned star Canelo, who was fighting to unify the super middleweight world title, at AT&T Stadium in Texas last month.
The former WBO champion was caught with an uppercut that almost immediately damaged his right eye and broke the former Olympian’s eye socket.
“When I was hit, I was hit by a gunshot and I remember it very, very clearly.” Saunders recalled the shot at talkSPORT.
“I thought, ‘Oh, that’s a good shot, that’s a good shot.’ I started jumping up and down, but my eye dropped.
“I kept seeing two or three and after 30 seconds I realized it wasn’t my legs, it was my eye.
“It’s a sedate injury, I thought I would never experience it, but in boxing you never know what will happen.”
When the 31-year-old returned to his corner at the end of the eighth round, he was seen shaking his head while taking the corner kick, whispered in his ear by Ben Davison, which was preceded by head coach Mark Tibbs waving goodbye.
Alvarez added Saunders’ WBO belt to his career, which also includes the WBA “Super” and WBC belts, and Saunders believes his team made the right decision to end the proceedings.
Explaining what happened in the corner, the Briton added: “As a fighter, I wanted to keep fighting. I sat down and heard Ben [Davison] telling me in the corner that it was over before I even sat down.
“I was shaking my head to say, ‘No way.’
“It was the right break, I can’t argue, I know my well-being was at hand.
“Of course it’s disgusting and no one wants to lose, it’s gut-wrenching, but that’s sport and boxing.
“All you can say is that the better man won that night. That’s it.
“I would love to see how the next four or five rounds went because I put so much heart and effort into it.
“It’s a sport.”
Saunders faced widespread criticism in the aftermath, with some suggesting he had decided to withdraw, despite pre-fight comments emphasizing that he was willing to do anything to win.
The two-division world champion, who was photographed getting into an ambulance after the fight, denied suggestions that he had resigned and repeated that Davison’s previous comments that he was willing to change his preferred Southpaw stance in the ninth round in an attempt to change the flow of the fight.
“You’ll always have your people come in and be worth their two pence.
“But my team that is in this corner knows this conversation. I was coming off the orthodox ninth inning and when people say, ‘He’s gone,’ you have to look at the situation.
“My team is here to do my job and look out for my best interests.
“I’m there to play all night long. When we step into that ring, it’s our life and I’m ready to give it up.
“But I would never in my life say, ‘No, I’ve had enough, I’ve had enough.’
“I boxed for a minute and 20 seconds with a broken eye socket and a broken cheekbone in three places.
“A minute and 20 seconds is an okay fight against an average fighter, but when you’re fighting the best man in the world, I could have easily quit, but I never did.
“It was the corner’s decision. It is what it is, I can’t argue with that.”
Saunders admits he’s 50-50 on whether he’ll return to the ring, and insists his father, Tom Saunders, will make the large decision on whether he hangs up his gloves.
“Everything would have to fall into place and [be] the right fight.
“Because coming back from fights like this is very challenging. Where are you going to?
“I will talk to my dad because he will have a lot of influence on this matter.
“Honestly, to be straightforward, the conversation will be more or less about my dad than me.
“This is one of them where it’s 50/50. Whether I think I’ll have one more fight or a few more fights, but they have to be the right kind of fights.
“If he says, ‘Leave it, son, don’t come back for more,’ that’s probably what I’ll do.”
Natasha Jonas unified the welterweight division by defeating Ivana Habazin by clear points on Saturday to add the WBC title to her IBF crown at the Exhibition Center in Liverpool.
Jonas (16-2-1, 9 KO) was last seen defending her title in January in a hard-fought split decision over Mikaela Mayer, while Habazin (23-6, 7 KO) won the vacant WBC welterweight title in her home country. time out, winning by wide points over Kinga Magyar.
After a technical opening round, Jonas settled into a steady rhythm before landing a powerful right hand in the fourth round that crushed Habazin.
There was a rivalry, but the home favorite was much better in the rallies and seemed to be losing round after round.
This situation lasted until the final bell, when Jonas became the winner by scores of 100-90, 99-91 and 99-92.
Price is closing in on Jonas’ match
Lauren Price definitely stayed on as a collision course with Jonas and easily defended her WBA and IBO welterweight titles after a third-round fight against Bexcy Mateus.
Mateus (7-1, 6 KO) was on board in the first round, after the Welshman landed a powerful left hand, and the Colombian struggled to match Price’s speed.
The same shot caused the 29-year-old to repeat the punch in the second round, and the round later ended when another stinging left hand stunned Meteus and she fell to the canvas, after which the fight was stopped.
Price (8-0, 2 KO) has agreed to face Jonas next, and promoter Ben Shalom revealed it could be announced next week.
Knife edge passes McKenna
Lee Cutler scored an upset victory to claim the silver WBC International welterweight title after winning a majority decision against Stephen McKenna.
McKenna (15-1, 14 KO) was eliminated in the first round, his knee touching the canvas after being tagged, and Cutler (15-1, 7 KO) took full advantage of his opponent’s weakness in the seventh round when his right hand plunged into his knee. The Irishman who ultimately fell once again.
McKenna was relentless in his attacks and landed a huge number of punches.
The balance of 94-94 was surpassed by the scores of 95-93 and 96-92, which ensured the victory for Cutler.
Jeffers stopped Quartey
Mark Jeffers is on track for large fights in 2025 after defeating Joshua Quartey to defend his silver Commonwealth super middleweight title.
A pair of right hands put Quartey (10-1, 9 KO) on the board, and although he broke the count, a well-placed body shot after the restart by Jeffers (19-0, 6 KO) blew the guy away again.
A crazy attack after the restart forced a stoppage.
Riley secures Chamberlain’s face-off with a stoppage
Viddal Riley finished the heavyweight fight and stopped Dan Garber in the second of the scheduled six rounds.
Riley (12-0, 7 KO) hit Garber (7-4, 2 KO) with his right hand, and then his next attack forced the referee’s intervention.
Riley’s next match will be against Isaac Chamberlain on February 1.
Undercard remaining
Mason Cartwright (21-4-1, 8 KO) won all six rounds at super welterweight against Dzmitry Atrokhau (16-25, 7 KO), and Hope lightweight Frankie Stringer (9-0, 1 KO) did the same in the fight against Tatenda Mangombe (3-9-1).
In the flyweight division, Mikie Tallon (6-0) defeated Benn Norman (7-7) with a body shot in the first round of the match, and then settled for a 59-54 victory.
The only fighter to fight four rounds in the super featherweight division was Mason Devine (6-0, 1 KO), who won every session against Jayo Fernando Duran (15-34-1, 14 KO).
Dillian Whyte has revealed his predictions for the hotly anticipated rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury on December 21.
Fury, who knocked out Whyte at Wembley Stadium in 2022, will seek revenge for the only defeat of his career in just 11 days, after losing to Usyk by split decision earlier this year.
Despite losing the night, “The Gypsy King” was a major success and many are struggling to pick a winner in his second battle against the imperious Ukrainian.
Some experts believe Fury needs to be more aggressive and take the lead if he is to win.
I’m talking to Social boxingWhyte revealed he shared that view, asking the Morecambe man to return to the game plan that saw him destroy Deontay Wilder in the return leg.
“It’s a great fight, man, I’m still trying to think – how will this fight go?
“Okay, Fury can make changes, but Usyk can make changes too. It’s a tough fight, a very, very tough fight for both fighters.
“If I were Fury’s coach, I would tell him he has to play aggressively.
“Fight him like you fought Wilder the second time.
“Bring back the aggression, bring back the tyrant!
“This is heavyweight boxing – you never know.”
It is unclear whether Fury will heed the advice of Whyte and others in the boxing world who have advised him to take the fight to Usyk, but looks noticeably heavier than before the first fight.
What are the changes? ❌@Tyson_Fury says he will exploit exactly the same game plan as the first time when he faces Oleksandr Usyk at the end of the month.
Thinks? 🧐 pic.twitter.com/VtpEwLJkWx
— Professional boxing fans (@ProBoxingFans) December 6, 2024
Win or lose, the 36-year-old could face a long-awaited home fight against Anthony Joshua, even though “A.J.” interrupted defeat against Daniel Dubois in September.
While it may not have been as great a spectacle as it once was, a clash between Joshua and Fury would still be by far the biggest all-British fight in recent memory.
As for Whyte, he returns to the ring next Sunday night and will face Ghanaian heavyweight Ebenezer Tetteh live on DAZN in Gibraltar.
The All-American fight between lightweight world champions Gervonta Davis and Shakur Stevenson is one of the most anticipated fights in all of boxing.
Both Davis and Stevenson are undefeated multi-weight champions and are staples on any respected pound-for-pound list.
With this in mind, you could be forgiven for assuming that the pair locking corners in their prime years is a given, but that doesn’t seem likely to happen in the near future.
“Tank” spoke to the media at the press conference inaugurating his performance March 1 fight with Lamont Roach, and when the prospect of fighting Stevenson arose, he didn’t seem particularly interested.
The Baltimore hitter even went so far as to question what his compatriot did to deserve him.
“What for? Who has Shakur [beat]? What did Shakur do?
“What has he achieved in sports? He didn’t do anything! Juvenile people look better than him!”
“Keyshawn [Davis] you look so much better than that nigga! Shout it out nigga, he ain’t done nothing!
I asked Gervonta about a possible fight with Shakur… #Box #TankRoach pic.twitter.com/T1eNFJ9iIO
— Dwa O Dwa Z.. (@Noo_Barzz) December 3, 2024
“Why the hell are you saying his name?”
Like Davis, Stevenson will also return to action in the first quarter of next year, fighting against up-and-comer Floyd Schofield on the February 22 Riyad season card.
The Newark southpaw has been sidelined since his July decision victory over Artem Harutyunyan after he had to withdraw from a proposed October fight with Joe Cordina due to injury.
Saudi boxing boss Turki Alalshikh has expressed his willingness to have a fight between the two virtuosos, provided both are successful in their upcoming fights.
‼️ His Excellency Turki Alalshikh stated that he wants the Gervonta Davis vs Shakur Stevenson fight: “My plan for Shakur is this fight [vs Floyd Schofield]then William Zepeda, and then let’s see if Tank wants to come on our show.” [@DAZNBoxing] pic.twitter.com/Mmi6hO7Fjo
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBenson) December 3, 2024
While he undoubtedly has the talent to rival Davis, Stevenson is not as commercial a star as his rival, and some critics believe he needs to start giving more entertaining performances if he wants to get substantial names.
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