Billy Joe Saunders says now that he's demonstrated his commitment to boxing, the other top middleweights will try to avoid him.
Now that WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders easily dismantled David Lemieux — in what was thought to be a toss-up fight which turned out to be anything but — he thinks he might've looked a little too impressive for either Canelo Alvarez or Gennady Golovkin to want any parts of him, telling WBN:
“I’ll give them a boxing lesson. The bookies and some others claimed this was a 50-50 fight against Lemieux and it was nothing but a money-maker for punters who know a good bet when they see one.
“Performances like that scare the likes of Canelo and Golovkin off. When you perform like that and you look like you’re a million dollars, they don’t want a piece of it.”
Saunders credits trainer Dominic Ingle for whipping him into pristine condition and making him fall back in love with the sport, something he believes makes him a much more dangerous fighter.
Anthony Fitzpatrick of MTK Global, who manages Saunders, says the company will be attempting to do everything in their power to make a big fight against either Canelo or Golovkin in the coming year and prove that Saunders is the best 160-pounder in the sport. And truthfully, you can't completely discount Saunders chances. When dialed-in he has a slick, awkward style that features enough movement to give just about anyone a difficult time.
So after Saunders latest performance, how many of you would favor him to beat Canelo? And how about Golovkin?