It’s certainly been a chaotic 48 hours for WBC, WBA, and WBO Super Middleweight world champion Canelo Alvarez.
The Mexican superstar’s long-awaited showdown with Terence Crawford was on, then off, then back on again; all amid reports that he’d signed a four-fight deal with Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season.
As speculation continues regarding Canelo Alvarez’s next fight, Bloody Knockout is taking a trip down memory lane to one of his most brutal and gruesome wins, when he fractured the orbital bone of an undefeated ‘playground bully’.
When Canelo Alvarez shattered hopes, dreams, and eye sockets
It’s 2021 and after settling his lawsuit with Golden Boy Promotions, Canelo Alvarez agrees to fight 30-0 British boxer Billy Joe Saunders in front of a packed-out AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The controversial British fighter’s trash-talking started as soon as the contract was signed, calling Alvarez a p—– in almost every single interview and even threatening to pull out at the last minute over the size of the ring.
Saunders’ upped his divisive antics during fight week; to the point that by the time the opening bell sounded, Alvarez was seething with rage, keen to silence the Briton once and for all.
Yet the first few rounds were close and competitive, with Saunders using his slick footwork and head movement to avoid many of Alvarez’s biggest shots.
Despite the Mexican still winning those early rounds thanks to his forward pressure, Saunders found his range and rhythm in the middle rounds as the commentary desk began to wonder whether a shock upset could be on the cards.
With the championship rounds looming large, Alvarez upped his pace and aggression.
In the eighth round, as Sauders attempted to duck underneath, Alvarez would time perhaps the single greatest uppercut in recent memory to wobble the undefeated world champion.
Almost immediately after the uppercut landed, Saunders’ eye began to swell up and after barely making it back to his corner, decided that it was better to quit on the stool.
It was later confirmed that Saunders had suffered a shattered orbital bone and would require multiple surgeries – he has not fought since.
KO win over Billy Joe Saunders labeled ‘the best ever seen Canelo’
The reaction to Canelo’s victory that night was split into two main categories: First, a celebration of boxing greatness from the Mexican and second, a harsh dose of reality for the controversial British star.
Saunders’ decision to quit on the stool was lambasted by the global boxing community as only a few months prior, he’d roasted heavyweight Daniel Dubois for throwing in the towel over the same injury.
“If my two eye sockets were broken, my jaw was broken, my teeth were out, my nose was smashed, my brain was beaten, I’m not stopping until I was knocked out or worse,” he stated on DAZN’s AK & Barak.
“I don’t agree with a man taking the knee and letting the ref count him out,” Saunders said at the time, with those comments coming back to bite him after the Canelo Alvarez retirement.
Just a few months later, the Mexican superstar would stop Caleb Plant to add the IBF Super Middleweight belt to his collection.