The super-middleweight title unification clash between Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders is still taking place…for now.
The pair are set to collide in a highly-anticipated contest Saturday night at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
However, there was fear among the combat sport world on Tuesday that it wouldn’t be the case after the latter’s father Tom Saunders claimed the fight was off due to Alvarez asking for a smaller ring.
“I can’t see them coming face to face because the issue with the ring has still not been sorted,” the senior Saunders told IFL TV. “There is nothing in the contract about the ring size, it’s all about negotiations and negotiations have broke down big time.
“Basically, Canelo has put an 18 foot ring, which I think is an amateur ring — that’s the fight ring. His plan was put an 18 foot ring there, knowing we were going to start [complaining] and he said right, 20 foot ring, that was his game plan. We wanted a 24-foot ring but we’ve come down to a 22-foot ring. Basically they are trying to take BJ’s legs away. We’re up against everything here and at the end of the day, I’m not going to let my son box in a 20-foot ring against the supposed-to-be pound-for-pound king of boxing.
“We’re up against everything here and we’ve spoken to them this morning. They’ve said it’s either 20-foot or book your flights home. Unfortunately people, we apologize to all the fans… I can’t let my son box in a 20-foot ring against Canelo on Cinco de Mayo weekend. We’ve given into a lot of stuff but this, we just cannot give in to. The fight will not be fair… the fight’s off.”
Saunders: Ring No Longer An Issue For Alvarez
The good news is the fight may still be on as Alvarez claimed he had no problem with what size the ring would be.
He also added that the fight is still going to happen.
Business as usual for Canelo. 💼#CaneloSaunders pic.twitter.com/NanV7cHaoP
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) May 4, 2021
Saunders saw that and declared there was no longer an issue as far as the ring size was concerned.
Billy Joe Saunders says that the ring is no longer an issue 🥊
(via @bjsaunders_) pic.twitter.com/pKk3odDJv9
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) May 4, 2021
However, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn still has to confirm if he will sort out the ring size Saunders prefers.
But for now, we still have a fight pending any further updates.
