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Canelo vs. B.J. Saunders is a Done Deal Says Everyone but the Promoter

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The hype machine is whirring for the May 2 match at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders. That’s no thanks to Golden Boy Promotions. On Thursday afternoon, March 5, a representative of this web site reached out to a Golden Boy higher-up with whom he had frequent dealings seeking confirmation that all the scuttlebutt was true. The higher-up was evasive. “Nothing’s official,” he said without elaboration.

Meanwhile, one of the world’s leading boxing web sites has already broken down the matchup, analyzing the strengths and vulnerabilities of the two combatants and offering plausible scenarios of how the bout will play out. Wouldn’t it be fun if Golden Boy throws the media a curve ball and picks someone other than Billy Joe to fill the slot?

We consider that highly unlikely.

The T-Mobile has become Canelo’s home away from home on Mexican holiday weekends. His 2016 Cinco de Mayo match with Amir Khan was the first boxing event in the spanking new 20,000-seat arena which had its ribbon-cutting the previous month. The following year he met Julio Cesar Chavez Jr here on the Cinco de Mayo weekend and last year he drew Daniel Jacobs. He missed 2018 when the Nevada Athletic Commission suspended him after he tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol, pushing his rematch with Gennadiy Golovkin into September of that year where it coincided with Mexican Independence Day.

By all accounts, Golden Boy considered three opponents for the May 2 date that they had reserved several months back – Saunders, his UK countryman Callum Smith, and Japan’s Ryota Murata. Each has a world title belt, Saunders and Smith at 168 and Murata at 160. Of the three, Saunders (29-0, 14 KOs) is the lightest puncher but the slickest boxer.

Billy Joe

A member of the Irish Traveler community, Billy Joe Saunders, 30, is the great-grandson of Absolom Beeney, a renowned bare-knuckle fighter and is thought to be a distant cousin of his close friend Tyson Fury. He represented Great Britain in the 2008 Olympics at the age of 18, losing in the second round to eventual silver medalist Carlos Banteaux, a Cuban that he had previously defeated. Heading into the games, his amateur record was reportedly 49-0.

Although Billy Joe has never lost as a pro, he’s had something of an up-and-down career. The Saunders that showed up against Artur Akavov and Willie Monroe Jr. has no prayer of defeating Canelo. But the Saunders that showed up against David Lemieux will almost certainly make it interesting.

Saunders met Lemieux on Dec. 16, 2017 on Lemieux’s turf in Quebec. It was a “pick-‘em” fight at British bet shops, but Saunders put on a clinic, winning every round on one of the scorecards. Lemieux landed perhaps one meaningful punch the entire 12 rounds.

That gave Saunders the WBO middleweight title, a belt that he would never defend. A bout with Demetrius Andrade fell out when Saunders was suspended by the Massachusetts Boxing Commission for testing positive for the banned substance oxilofrine, a common nasal decongestant. And he got in dutch with the British Boxing Board of Control when a video surfaced of him taunting a drug addict while sitting in his Rolls Royce with several companions, offering her crack cocaine to perform a sex act or punch a passer-by, which she did. That disgusting episode resulted in a $100,000 fine.

This wasn’t the first incident of this nature. In 2008, he was accused of lewd behavior involving a housekeeper at a hotel in France where the British Olympic boxing team was holding a pre-Olympics camp. The incident came to light after Saunders lost his match with Banteaux but while the Games were still in progress. Saunders was suspended by Great Britain’s Amateur Boxing Association.

In the emotional maturity department, Billy Joe Saunders is England’s answer to Adrien Broner.

Saunders has fought three times since the Lemieux fight. After a tune-up with a 40-something Ghanaian, he outpointed Germany’s unheralded Shefat Isufi to win the vacant WBO 168-pound belt and defended it with an 11th-round stoppage of Argentina’s unheralded Marcelo Esteban Coceres.

Canelo

There isn’t much more that one can say about Canelo Alvarez. Boxing biggest box office star, Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KOs) was named the 2019 Fighter of the Year by The Sweet Science and virtually every other entity.

The Mexican redhead’s lone defeat came two months after his 23rd birthday when he went 12 rounds with Floyd Mayweather. He’s 29 now and much improved. Since the Mayweather fight, he’s 11-0-1 and cemented his legacy by winning titles in four weight classes from 154 to 175. It is worth noting, however, that Billy Joe Saunders is a southpaw and that Canelo had a difficult time with southpaws Austin Trout and Erislandy Lara.

So, pencil in Canelo Alvarez vs Billy Joe Saunders for May 2 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. But to be on the safe side, keep an eraser handy. As we write this, it still isn’t official.

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Najee Lopez Steps up in Class and Wins Impressively at Plant City

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Garry Jonas’ ProBox series returned to its regular home in Plant City, Florida, tonight with a card topped by a 10-round light heavyweight match between fast-rising Najee Lopez and former world title challenger Lenin Castillo. This was considered a step-up fight for the 25-year-old Lopez, an Atlanta-born-fighter of Puerto Rican heritage. Although the 36-year-old Castillo had lost two of his last three heading in, he had gone the distance with Dimitry Bivol and Marcus Browne and been stopped only once (by Callum Smith).

Lopez landed the cleaner punches throughout. Although Castillo seemed unfazed during the first half of the fight, he returned to his corner at the end of round five exhibiting signs of a fractured jaw.

In the next round, Lopez cornered him against the ropes and knocked him through the ropes with a left-right combination. Referee Emil Lombardo could have stopped the fight right there, but he allowed the courageous Castillo to carry on for a bit longer, finally stopping the fight as Castillo’s corner and a Florida commissioner were signaling that it was over.

The official time was 2:36 of round six. Bigger fights await the talented Lopez who improved to 13-0 with his tenth win inside the distance. Castillo declined to 25-7-1.

Co-Feature

In a stinker of a heavyweight fight, Stanley Wright, a paunchy, 34-year-old North Carolina journeyman, scored a big upset with a 10-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Jeremiah Milton.

Wright carried 280 pounds, 100 pounds more than in his pro debut 11 years ago. Although he was undefeated (13-0, 11 KOs), he had never defeated an opponent with a winning record and his last four opponents were a miserable 19-48-2. Moreover, he took the fight on short notice.

What Wright had going for him was fast hands and, in the opening round, he put Milton on the canvas with a straight right hand. From that point, Milton fought tentatively and Wright, looking fatigued as early as the fourth round, fought only in spurts. It seemed doubtful that he could last the distance, but Milton, the subject of a 2021 profile in these pages, was wary of Wright’s power and unable to capitalize. “It’s almost as if Milton is afraid to win,” said ringside commentator Chris Algieri during the ninth stanza when the bout had devolved into a hugfest.

The judges had it 96-93 and 97-92 twice for the victorious Wright who boosted his record to 14-0 without improving his stature.

Also

In the TV opener, a 10-round contest in the junior middleweight division, Najee Lopez stablemate Darrelle Valsaint (12-0, 10 KOs) scored his career-best win with a second-round knockout of 35-year-old Dutch globetrotter Stephen Danyo (23-7-3).

A native Floridian of Haitian descent, the 22-year-old Valsaint was making his eighth start in Plant City. He rocked Danyo with a chopping right hand high on the temple and then, as Danyo slumped forward, applied the exclamation point, a short left uppercut. The official time was 2:17 of round two.

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Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue is Headed to Vegas after KOing Ye Joon Kim

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Japan’s magnificent Naoya Inoue, appearing in his twenty-fourth title fight, scored his 11th straight stoppage tonight while successfully defending his unified super bantamweight title, advancing his record to 29-0 (26 KOs) at the expense of Ye Joon Kim. The match at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena came to an end at the 2:25 mark of round four when U.S. referee Mark Nelson tolled “10” over the brave but overmatched Korean.

Kim, raised in a Seoul orphanage, had a few good moments, but the “Monster” found his rhythm in the third round, leaving Kim with a purplish welt under his left eye. In the next frame, he brought the match to a conclusion, staggering the Korean with a left and then finishing matters with an overhand right that put Kim on the seat of his pants, dazed and wincing in pain.

Kim, who brought a 21-2-2 record, took the fight on 10 days’ notice, replacing Australia’s Sam Goodman who suffered an eye injury in sparring that never healed properly, forcing him to withdraw twice.

Co-promoter Bob Arum, who was in the building, announced that Inoue’s next fight would happen in Las Vegas in the Spring. Speculation centers on Mexico City’s Alan Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) who is ranked #1 by the WBC. However, there’s also speculation that the 31-year-old Inoue may move up to featherweight and seek to win a title in a fifth weight class, in which case a potential opponent is Brandon Figueroa should he defeat former Inoue foe Stephen Fulton next weekend. In “olden days,” this notion would have been dismissed as the Japanese superstar and Figueroa have different promoters, but the arrival of Turki Alalshikh, the sport’s Daddy Warbucks, has changed the dynamic. Tonight, Naoya Inoue made his first start as a brand ambassador for Riyadh Season.

Simmering on the backburner is a megafight with countryman Junto Nakatani, an easy fight to make as Arum has ties to both. However, the powers-that-be would prefer more “marination.”

Inoue has appeared twice in Las Vegas, scoring a seventh-round stoppage of Jason Moloney in October of 2020 at the MGM Bubble and a third-round stoppage of Michael Dasmarinas at the Virgin Hotels in June of 2021.

Semi-wind-up

In a 12-round bout for a regional welterweight title, Jin Sasaki improved to 19-1-1 (17) with a unanimous decision over Shoki Sakai (29-15-3). The scores were 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.

Also

In a bout in which both contestants were on the canvas, Toshiki Shimomachi (20-1-3) edged out Misaki Hirano (11-2), winning a majority decision. A 28-year-old Osaka southpaw with a fan-friendly style, the lanky Shimomachi, unbeaten in his last 22 starts, competes as a super bantamweight. A match with Inoue may be in his future.

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Eric Priest Wins Handily on Thursday’s Golden Boy card at the Commerce Casino

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Model turned fighter Eric Priest jabbed and jolted his way into the super middleweight rankings with a shutout decision win over veteran Tyler Howard on Thursday.

In his first main event Priest (15-0, 8 KOs) proved ready for contender status by defusing every attack Tennessee’s Howard (20-3, 11 KOs) could muster at Commerce Casino, the second fight in six days at the LA County venue.

All ticket monies collected on the Folden Boy Promotions card were contributed to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation as they battle wildfires sprouting all over Los Angeles County due to high winds.

Priest, 26, had never fought anyone near Howard’s caliber but used a ramrod jab to keep the veteran off-balance and unable to muster a forceful counter-attack. Round after round the Korean-American fighter pumped left jabs while circling his opposition.

Though hit with power shots, none seemed to faze Howard but his own blows were unable to put a dent in Priest. After 10 rounds of the same repetitive action all three judges scored the fight 100-90 for Priest who now wins a regional super middleweight title.

Priest also joins the top 15 rankings of the WBA organization.

In a fight between evenly matched middleweights, Jordan Panthen (11-0, 9 KOs) remained undefeated after 10 rounds versus DeAundre Pettus (12-4, 7 KOs). Though equally skilled, Panthen simply out-worked the South Caroliina fighter to win by unanimous decision. No knockdowns were scored.

Other Bouts

Grant Flores (8-0, 6 KOs) knocked out Costa Rica’s David Lobo Ramirez (17-4, 12 KOs) with two successive right uppercuts at 2:59 of the second round of the super welterweight fight.

Cayden Griffith (3-0, 3 KOs) used a left hook to the body to stop Mark Misiura at 1:43 of the second round in a super welterweight bout.

Jordan Fuentes (3-0) floored Brandon Badillo (0-3-1) in the third round and proceeded to win by decision after four rounds in a super bantamweight fight.

A super featherweight match saw Leonardo Sanchez (8-0) win by decision over Joseph Cruz Brown (10-12) after six rounds.

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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