SAUL ‘CANELO’ ALVAREZ is ‘fed up’ with Billy Joe Saunders ahead of their fight tonight, according to former world champion Chris Algieri.
Pound-for-pound king Canelo and WBO super-middleweight champion Saunders will meet in front of 70,000 fans in Texas for three of the 168-pound belts.
And Algieri, who is best known for coming up short against the likes of Amir Khan and Manny Pacquiao, feels Saunders has riled the Mexican up throughout fight week.
When asked if Saunders is trying to get under Canelo’s skin, Algieri told Fighthype: “Maybe, but I also think that’s just the way Saunders is, and I mean in terms of his personality, not so much his fighting style.
“Maybe that is why he does that, but I just think that’s the way he is. He’s a ball buster, and it’s hilarious. But Canelo is not looking too enthused.
“I think this is the most focused I’ve seen him in a fight week in a long time. He [Saunders] could [get it to work for him], but Canelo at this point is such a seasoned veteran.
“It’s going to be really tough to get him off his game, to get him off his focus to the point where it’ll affect him negatively.
“Don’t poke the bear. It seems like it. It was funny that exchange with the handshake and the fist,” Algieri added when asked if Canelo will make Saunders pay for his trash talk.
“I thought that was really indicative because it seemed like Billy Joe was going to fake it, and Canelo beat him to it. He’s like, ‘Uh ah.’
“I thought that was an interesting exchange between the two. It seems like Canelo is fed up.”
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Canelo has not been beaten in any of his last 14 contests, the closest of which came in a draw with Gennady Golovkin in 2017.
Meanwhile, Saunders’ biggest victories have come against the likes of Andy Lee, David Lemieux and Chris Eubank Jr.
But he has never taken on someone with the pedigree of Canelo and as a result is the overwhelming underdog in the fight.
Find out all you need to know about the bout this evening via our article here.
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