WBC and WBA (Super) super middleweight champion of the world Canelo Álvarez will be facing WBO super-middleweight titleholder Billy Joe Saunders for a three belt unification fight in may this year as both boxers have reportedly come to terms.
The report was first made by The Athletic’s Mike Coppinger, who revealed that the fight will unify all three sanctions’ belts and is set to take place during the Cinco De Mayo weekend on either the 1st or 8th May, although a location for the bout is yet to be decided.
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Canelo Álvarez gets his second fight in 2021 against “Superb” Saunders
Canelo (54-1-2, 36 KOs), who defeated British pugilist Callum Smith via unanimous decision to win the titles at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas on On 19th December last year, has a title defense bout on 27th February against mandatory challenger Avni Yıldırım (21–2, 12 KOs) at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida and has to walk out of the fight without any major injuries.
The undefeated Billy Joe Saunders (30-0, 14 KOs) was last seen in action on 4th December, when he defended his WBO belt against fellow Briton Martin Murray via unanimous decision at the SSE Arena in London.
The win marked “Superb” Saunders’ second title defense since he clinched the vacant WBO title on 18th May 2019 with a UD victory over Shefat Isufi at the Lamex Stadium in Stevenage.
I know I can beat Canelo: Billy Joe Saunders aims to keep his pro boxing record unblemished
Canelo vs Saunders was originally scheduled to take place in last year May, but due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the fight had to be suspended because a behind closed doors match would mean too much revenue loss.
Although the fight was postponed, Saunders had some verbal heat towards his adversary, claiming that he would retain his unbeaten record against Canelo.
“I know I can beat Canelo. I’ve never been beat and believe I’ll end up unbeaten,” Saunders had told Robert Orphanides on Instagram, “If I get beat by someone who’s better than me, I can only shake their hand.”
“But my main goal is to get ginger b****cks in the ring and see what I can do.”
