Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders had their first face-off this week after the Mexican star finally agreed to the 22-foot ring size that Billy Joe was asking for to fight him this Saturday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
There was a little bit of jawing back and forth between Canelo and Saunders during Wednesday’s face-to-face. Saunders repeatedly needled Canelo about “Mexican beef” during the face-off, a move to remind about his positive test for the banned substance clenbuterol in 2018.
Saunders (30-0, 14 KOs) wanted a 24-foot ring, which is huge for a ring, but he was willing to come down to 22. Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn reportedly tried to get Saunders to agree to 21 feet, but he refused.
If Saunders had walked out of the fight, he would have been replaced by either John Ryder or Carlos Gongora, both of which reportedly flew out to Texas in case they were needed.
The promoters for the fight mistakenly left an avenue for Saunders to drag his feet on the promotion for the fight by failing to include the ring size in the contract.
Canelo vs. Saunders face to face jawing:
Saunders: “You love the beef, the Mexican beef.”
Canelo: “You love other things.”
Saunders: “You love the beef. You’d love it inside the ring with me.”
Canelo: “Yeah, you’re going to see.”
Saunders: “You’re going to see. Walk away, walk away. Get!”
Canelo: “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”
“I could give a s*** what they’ve prepared for,” said Saunders to iFL TV about Matchroom flying out John Ryder and Carlos Gongora as potential replacements for him if he pulls out of the fight.
“I know what I’m prepared for, and I know where I’m at with myself. I know what I’m ready for. If they want to do that [replace him with Gongora or Ryder], I have no problem.
“They can give someone a paycheck to give them a few quid to go home with to take a hiding in the arena. Some people will accept that because losing is not a big deal.
“I believe I will be victorious. It’s only me and him in the ring. I don’t care if there are 50 million [fans at the AT&T Stadium] in there.
“The more the better. I’ll go in there and get the job done, end of story. It would have nice to have [his fans] because I’ve had a lot of support from the traveler’s community, but it’s the Canelo Alvarez Show, not the Billy Joe Saunders Show.
“When I get in the ring on Saturday, do you remember the ‘David & Goliath’ story? You’re going to see that story. That’s what you’re going to see.
“I’m coming with the skill-set and desire to win, not just pick money up. I think he got sixty grand for his last fight,” said Saunders about Chris Eubank reportedly betting 10,000 on Canelo to knock Billy Joe out.
“”He can’t afford to put 10 grand down. He’s completely irrelevant to try and get a name around this fight,” said Saunders.