Canelo Álvarez and Billy Joe Saunders could postpone fight over ring size
The Mexican boxer arrived in Dallas on Monday ahead of his fight against Billy Joe Saunders and during his press conference he wore a Chivas jersey.
The Álvarez-Saunders fight is scheduled for 8 May, but on Tuesday Billy Joe Saunders' father, Tom, claimed that if the ring is not 24-ft his son will not fight on Saturday. The ring size for the fight was proposed at 18-ft and the Saunders corner has threatened to pull out if changes are not made.
“The problem is I come over here and they try to chuck me in a phonebox of a boxing ring,” Saunders said. “You know, all these games and other bits and bumps played along the way for this fight is all mind games. People say stuff to get under people’s skin and under the camp's skin, but it’s hundreds and hundreds of feet long and they want to stick a 16’ to 18’ ring in the middle of it.
“For me, that’s just unacceptable. I want a 24’ ring and they’re saying it’s not gonna happen and it is what it is. But I’ve left it to my team and I’m sure they’ll solve it, otherwise there won’t be any fight.
“You can’t just fly me in here and show me the ring that we’re using and I’ve been training all of my camp in a 24’ ring. It’s a unification fight, not a British title. It’s like someone training on the 200m running track and someone training on the 400m running track. There’s a big difference.”
Saúl ‘Canelo’ Álvarez shows off his love for Chivas
Saúl ‘Canelo’ Álvarez will fight Saunders on 8 May at the AT&T stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. This will be one of the biggest attendances boxing has seen during the coronavirus pandemic and Canelo is fighting for the super-middleweight unification title.
On Tuesday, the Mexican boxer was interviewed by various journalists to promote the fight and in one of them he was photographed with the Chivas jersey in his hand. Álvarez has been a fan of Chivas since he was young after growing up in Guadalajara and he follows the team's fortunes closely.