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WBC, WBA super middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez is not concerned with the boxing ability of his upcoming opponent, WBO champion Billy Joe Saunders.
Canelo and Saunders will unify their titles on May 8th at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Saunders believes that he’s the best boxer that Canelo has faced since Floyd Mayweather, who easily outboxed the Mexican star over twelve rounds in 2013.
“We will see on May 8 if he is the best opponent that I’ve faced, but it’s being assumed that he is. Yes, he is a fighter who moves a lot, he’s left-handed, with experience. He is supposed to be one of the most difficult opponents that I’ve faced,” Canelo said to Univision.
While there are many who still mention Mayweather’s boxing tactics as the path to beat Canelo, the unified champion believes that he would absolutely beat Mayweather if they collided today.
“Without a doubt I would beat him, it would be a very different fight. I am a more mature fighter, it would be a totally different fight. I have more experience, I learned a lot. I said that this was not going to stop me [the loss in 2013], that I would be the best in the world at some point, it hurt a lot because I wanted to win, but only God knows why he does the things he does,” Canelo said.
At only 30-years-old, Canelo still has some years left on the clock.
But, he’s expecting to retire in about seven years.
“Walking to the ring is going to be one of the moments that I miss the most when I retire. I have seven more years, and I talk about it because at some point I am going to retire,” Canelo said.
Should Canelo beat Saunders, he is potentially going to fight in September against IBF world champion Caleb Plant.