Well that drama fizzled out pretty quickly.
It wasn’t but a few hours ago that the super-middleweight unification bout between Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders was in doubt after Team Saunders complained about the unfavorably small ring size. Well that’s a distant memory because Billy Joe has posted a video saying that this whole story is no longer a problem.
“Just want to say I’m pleased the issue is sorted,” Saunders said on his Instagram story. “I tagged Eddie Hearn and Canelo in the last video and the ring is not a problem. So thumbs are up.”
We don’t know what it entails when Saunders says “the issue is sorted” and whether he is going to get a bigger ring (22 or 24 feet), or if he’s dropped it and will deal with the smaller ring which will have an impact on his ability to move around as often as he normally does in fights. Whatever the case, maybe this confrontation between Canelo and a member of Team Saunders played a factor.
Verbal altercation between Canelo and a member of Billy Joe Saunders’ team in the hotel lobby. Team member asks: “What’s happening with the ring? We’ve come a long way, grow some bcks.” Canelo replies: “You are a fing py.”
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) May 4, 2021
John Ryder (29-5, 16 KOs) was supposedly on his way to Dallas to serve as a backup opponent once this news broke. Truth be told he arguably should’ve gotten the nod against recent Canelo opponent Callum Smith, so he’d have been a decent substitute. It’s Billy Joe Saunders though so he might as well stay throughout the week.
Saunders has the WBO super-middleweight title, whereas Canelo possesses the WBC and WBA titles. The bout takes place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on May 8th, with the DAZN main card start time at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT.
