Canelo Alvarez will go down in history as one of boxing’s finest, largely thanks to his dominant displays over the years.
There have been few people who have truly been able to test Alvarez throughout his career. Only losing to Dimitry Bivol and Floyd Mayweather Jr., the Mexican’s talents are undeniable.
Not shy of a one-sided performance, Alvarez has dealt a lot of damage to the world’s best fighters in the 21st century. This includes when Alvarez delivered a knockout-worthy blow to Gennady Golovkin, but the fighter somehow remained standing.
Alvarez’s performances have made him one of the best middleweight boxers of all time.
However, on one occasion, Alvarez was able to dish out a destructive punch to his opponent, resulting in a frightening injury.
Canelo Alvarez delivered one of his hardest punches to Billie Joe Saunders
In May of 2021, Billie Joe Saunders would face Alvarez in the AT&T Stadium in Texas. With the WBO and WBC World Super Middleweight titles on the line, Saunders was also looking to protect his 30-0 undefeated record.
However, it was not meant to be for UK fighter.
A power shot from Alvarez would land on the eye of Saunders, inflicting serious damage. Looking sheepish in the final 90 seconds of the round, the British fighter was able to survive round eight.
Although, the fight’s ninth round would not start due to the severity of the injury endured by Saunders.
Speaking to TalkSport about the fight, Saunders said he acknowledged the right uppercut at the time, “I thought, ‘Ooh, that’s a good shot, that’s a good shot.’ And I started bouncing about, but my eye had dropped beneath my lid.”
“It’s a bad injury, an injury I thought I would never get, but you never know what’s gonna happen in boxing.”
With the fight being stopped in between the rounds, Saunders would make a trip to the hospital for his injury. He revealed that the diagnosis of the injuries was a broken eye socket and a broken cheekbone, each with breaks in three different places.
“I boxed a minute and 20 seconds with a broken eye socket, a broken cheekbone in three places. A minute and 20 seconds is alright fighting the average man, but when you’re fighting the best man on the planet, I could’ve easily opted out but I never.”
“That was the cornerman’s decision [to stop the fight]. It is what it is, I can’t argue with that.”
Billie Joe Saunders’ fight with Canelo Alvarez was his last outing
After his harrowing injury against Alvarez, Saunders would not step in the ring again. With a record of 30-1, the British fighter earned 14 knockout victories in that time.
Losing his WBO World Super Middleweight title in his final bout, it was the only time he dropped the belt since claiming it in 2015.
However, Saunders has not yet formally retired. In 2024, he even revealed that talks were in place for him to meet Chris Eubank Jr. in a rematch, whom he had previously beaten.
It is unclear as to whether Saunders will return to the ring after a three-year absence from the ring, but he has not officially hung up his gloves as of yet.