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HomeBoxingCanelo defeat 'very tough' to recover from, says Saunders' trainer Mark Tibbs

Canelo defeat ‘very tough’ to recover from, says Saunders’ trainer Mark Tibbs

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While retaining his own WBC and WBA (Super) super-middleweight belts, Canelo Alvarez also clinched the WBO belt from Billy Joe Saunders, delivering a brutal 8-round finish that saw the Briton retiring from his stool with a broken eye socket.

Although the majority of the boxing community expected nothing less from the number one pound for pound boxer in the world, things have been rather dusky for Saunders, who failed to match the expectations of his fans at the AT&T Stadium on 8th May.

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While the defeat marked his first career defeat, Saunders lost his WBO title which he had won back in May 2019 against Shefat Isufi. Not only that, the eye damage that ‘Superb’ sustained in the fight will make him take a prolonged hiatus from the sport to be fully recovered once again.

Canelo becomes three-belt champion at 168 as Saunders retires with a swollen eye - THE SPORTS ROOM
Canelo unified the WBC, WBA (Super) and WBO super middleweight belts as Billy Joe Saunders retired with a broken eye socket last Saturday.

The jab from Canelo, which fractured Saunders’ eye socket, also caused him to lose his vision in the right eye, and soon after the fight, he had to be taken to a local hospital where he underwent surgery.

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Tibbs says Saunders has to “get through” the grief from the Canelo fight

While its estimated that Saunders will be out for months to be physically ring-ready, his trainer Mark Tibbs worries that the mental recovery can take much, much longer.

“It’s going to be a very, very tough time emotionally for Billy Joe,” Tibbs said in an interview with talkSPORT, “he comes from the community he comes from and they are a very proud people and it is just going to be very tough.” 

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Saunders did not just sail on his own confidence ahead of the toughest match of his career, he even had the backing from none other than WBC heavyweight champion and his compatriot- Tyson Fury, who believed that his mate was going to pick up a win over Canelo via unanimous decision.

ALSO READ: Dillian Whyte brands Tyson Fury a ‘coward’ for not protecting Saunders’ father, Fury issues response

It’s going to be tough for Billy Joe and he has a good family around him and good support with his friends. It’s like grieving; it’s something he has got to get through, he has got kids around him and that will help him get through and you have got to get on with things,” Tibbs added.

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Saikat Banerjee
Saikat Banerjee
A wordsmith who indulges in the world of combat sports, Saikat is an MMA, boxing, and arm wrestling content writer at The MMA India Show and The Sports Room. Apart from combat sports, he also engages in Indian sports content at The Sports India Show. Currently pursuing an MBA from Jadavpur University, Saikat's other interests lie in motorcycling, working out, and travelling.

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