Posted on 05/10/2021
By: Hans Themistode
Super middleweight contender Edgar Berlanga was not too pleased with the performance of Billy Joe Saunders this past Saturday night. The British native took on unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez in front of over 73,000 fans at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
Saunders, 31, attempted to box and move against Alvarez but his defensive acumen was no match for the offensive onslaught of the Mexican star. With the right eye of Saunders falling apart, the slick southpaw was forced to remain on his stool as the start of round nine began. Despite Saunders suffering a quadripod fracture and has since undergone surgery, Berlanga ripped into his actions.
“Billy p*ssy,” said Berlanga during an interview with ESNews. “He quit. At this caliber man, you supposed to show out. Give a f*ck if you go down, if you get knocked out, you get stopped you supposed to go out like a champ. To quit on the stool like that is no good.”
The exact moment in which Alvarez essentially shattered the face of Saunders, took place in the eighth round. The British product lunged in with a left hand and attempted to duck low once he missed. A fully aware Alvarez connected with a sharp right uppercut that left Saunders on weak legs. The bell to end the round came soon after and a wincing Saunders slumped into his corner. His team attempted desperately to reduce the swelling but we’re unable to. As round nine began, Saunders remained on his stool as his corner waved their hands and said their man was done for the night.
Prior to the stoppage, Saunders appeared to be boxing well. Two of the three judges sitting ringside had their contest 6-2 in favor of Alvarez while the third and final judge had it a bit closer at 5-3. Reporter and commentator for DAZN in, Chris Mannix, actually had Saunders winning by the score of 5-3.
In the mind of Berlanga, he vehemently disagrees with the scorecard of Mannix. He also disagrees with anyone who gave Saunders even a single round. In Berlanga’s opinion, Alvarez was dishing out a one-sided beating.
“He won every round in my eyes. Billy Joe wasn’t doing nothing, he was running.”