Canelo Alvarez names former opponent from the UK who is a 'bad person' and who he enjoyed beating more than anyone else

25/08/2024 15:36

Canelo Alvarez has named Billy Joe Saunders as the opponent who he most enjoyed beating.

The Mexican boxing superstar has had 65 fights in his professional career to date, and insisted that the Brit is the foe who angered him more than anyone else.

The pair met in 2021, when Canelo moved into the super-middleweight divison.

In the span of just 11 months, the Mexican had four fights and by the end of this period emerged as undisputed champion in the weight class.

He started by beating Callum Smith in December 2020.

This victory gave him the WBA and vacant WBC titles.

Following a mandatory defence against Avni Yildirim in February 2021, he then jumped straight into a unification contest against Saunders in May.

The loud-mouthed Brit was the WBO champion at the time and had been calling for a clash with the Mexican for several years.

Saunders was far from respectful towards many of his opponents pre-fight, and did not change his approach when taking on Canelo.

Plenty of trash talk was exchanged with both men supremely confident of victory.

In the end though, Canelo’s confidence was proved correct, as he broke Saunders’ orbital bone and stopped him after eight rounds.

He then went on to stop Caleb Plant a few months later to win the IBF crown and so united all four major super-middleweight world titles.

Now, a few years on, he still looks back on the Saunders fight with contempt.

Asked which opponent angered him the most, Canelo told PBC: "Billy Joe Saunders.

“That f***er p***ed me off, that’s why he got what he deserved.

“Some fighters talk to sell a fight, but I think he’s a bad person and I really enjoyed beating that guy.”

Saunders has not fought since his defeat to Canelo.

The Mexican on the other hand has had six bouts since and is set to return against Edgar Berlanga on September 14, still holding Saunders’ old WBO belt to this day.