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“I Didn’t Get the Response I Wanted From Him” – Billy Joe Saunders’ Trainer Justifies Corner Stoppage Against Canelo Alvarez

The Billy Joe Saunders vs Canelo Alvarez encounter ended in the most tragic fashion. Both the fighters fought exuberantly well and gave their best shot to make this fight worth the watch. Unfortunately for fans, Saunders suffered a stoppage loss to the Mexican after round 8.

In a post-fight interview, Saunders’ coach, Mark Tibbs, revealed the reason he intended to stop this fight. “His eye socket was caved in and he couldn’t see. So I didn’t get the response I wanted from him so.”

“It was frustrating really because I felt that he was grown into it, but yeah, so I had to pull it,” he said in a conversation with Behind the Gloves.

Canelo vs Saunders
May 8, 2021; Arlington, Texas, USA; Canelo Alvarez (teal trunks) and Billy Joe Saunders (blue green trunks) during a super middleweight boxing title fight at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The fight began on a good note for ‘Superb’ as he showed a snippet of his skills in round 1 of the fight. Subsequently, it was a Canelo Alvarez show for a while. But in between, Saunders landed his slick jabs coupled with some left counter attacks.

Read More – Canelo Alvarez Sends a Chilling Message to Caleb Plant: ‘I’m Coming My Friend’

As the fight progressed to round 8, Saul Alvarez took full control of the ring and he decoded Saunders’ strategy pretty well. Consequently, Alvarez landed one powerful strike on his adversary, which left his right eye swollen. Citing the 31-year-old’s condition, his trainer asked the referee to stop the fight, thus saving his fighter from further damage.

Undoubtedly Billy Joe Saunders did well in the fight, but it was just not enough for him to win this.

What’s next for Billy Joe Saunders?

With a loss in this bout, the Hertfordshire native even lost his crucial ‘O’. More than that, he lost an opportunity to compete for the undisputed 168-pound belt later.

Billy Joe Saunders
May 7, 2021; Arlington, Texas, USA; Boxer Billy Joe Saunders takes the stage during weigh ins for his super middleweight boxing title fight against Canelo Alvarez at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

But looking back at his performance in this fight, the former WBO super-middleweight champ can only be proud. He abruptly stuck to his game plan and committed a very handful of mistakes.

Yet, he will have to move away from this dreadful defeat to focus on his career ahead. For now, he should only be keen to recover well and quickly from his eye injury, and then he should get back into his gym like his old self.

Do you think it was a fair call from Mark Tibbs to stop this fight?

The post “I Didn’t Get the Response I Wanted From Him” – Billy Joe Saunders’ Trainer Justifies Corner Stoppage Against Canelo Alvarez appeared first on EssentiallySports.