Boxing
Billy Joe Saunders withdraws as potential opponent for Canelo and takes aim at Demetrius Andrade
Billy Joe Saunders was perceived as the frontrunner to be Canelo Alvarez’s next opponent and was reportedly penciled in for a May 2 showdown before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
But with everything in disarray, it seems unlikely that boxing will have fans in attendance for a September fight — certainly not anything close to a full house — and Saunders has subsequently withdrawn his name from the shortlist of opponents. Among the reasons are his refusal to accept a pay cut and concern about how the pandemic has affected his preparation.
“If they think they’re going to cut my money and cut me short, that’s not going to happen,” Saunders said to The Athletic. “Considering he’s getting $35 million, they come to me for a pay cut?”
Saunders also took umbrage with the pay cut being coupled with a short camp.
“I’m not ready in September,” Saunders said. “They want to try mind games; that don’t work with me, I play the biggest mind games in British boxing.”
It’s a complicated matter considering that the entire sport has struggled with putting together big fights without a live audience. Promoters have struggled with finding a way to pay the purses for high-priced fighters without a live gate to contribute to assist in absorbing the cost.
Oscar De La Hoya suggested this during his interview with RingTV’s Cynthia Conte when discussing options for Alvarez’s next fight.
“We know that Bob Arum has been doing smaller shows, I believe with no audience, or maybe some audience, but it’s really not gonna be enough people to generate the monies that are being paid out,” De La Hoya said.
“That’s a big problem. That’s one of our big concerns,” he continued. “How do we pay Canelo, and how do we pay his opponent? And plus, you have to expense out the four fights that are on the undercard and all the testing that we have to do. It’s a major concern, but we’ll figure it out.”
Now that Saunders has removed himself from the running, he’ll turn his attention to an old foe. He’s mentioned the possibility of facing WBO middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade in October. The two were originally linked in 2018 before Saunders tested positive for a banned substance and pulled from the fight.
