Former two-division world champion, Billy Joe Saunders, is yet to return to the ring following his brutal stoppage loss to Canelo Alvarez back in May 2021.
Saunders retired on his stool after the eighth round, after a devastating uppercut from the now undisputed super-middleweight champion that fractured his orbital bone, putting an end to the Brit’s undefeated record on his thirty-first outing as a professional.
Despite the nasty injury, Saunders told the ‘Keep A LukeOut’ Podcast that he expected more from the pound-for-pound superstar, especially in terms of power. Instead, the slick southpaw argued that David Lemiuex, whom he comfortably defended his WBO middleweight title against in 2017, was a much harder puncher.
“I’ll be honest, when I was in there with him [Canelo], I was expecting so much more. I remember being in there, it might have been round five and we were [fighting on the] inside and I remember grabbing him and walking him back. I’m not a one-punch knockout man but when it comes to tangling someone up and pushing a pulling, I am very, very good at that, that is one of my best weapons.
I remember tying him up and pushing him back and I remember thinking ‘you know what, I am just going to put my hand up here’, a bit of kidology like ‘go on, go on [hit me]’. I was waiting to get hit like I did against David Lemiuex, when I boxed him, I tested some power on my arm and I thought ‘f**k me’. I’ve never felt anyone punch as hard as he punches.”