Eddie Hearn claims that Canelo Alvarez believes that his May fight with Billy Joe Saunders will be ‘easy work.’
Alvarez defeated mandatory challenger Avni Yilidirim at the weekend with a comfortable victory, and in the aftermath of the win Matchroom promoter Hearn immediately confirmed a May fight with Saunders to contest the WBO super middleweight championship.
Hearn was talking to DAZN’s Ak & Barak Show and reported the Mexican’s thoughts his recent and upcoming schedule.
He said that Alavarez had claimed: “Yildrim was easy work, Callum Smith was easy work. Billy Joe Saunders is easy work.”
When Hearn pressed him on tough previous fights with Austin Trout and Erislandy, Alvarez, “laughed, as if to say, ‘I was a kid back then.’
“People get confused. When he was in those fights, he was 30% of the fighter he is now. The aura he’s giving off is he’s just so confident.”
Hearn believes that after the Saunders fight, Canelo could defeat Caleb Plant for the IBF championship to become the undisputed super middleweight champion, and then go on to become an even bigger star, with plans to fight for years more.
“I feel like his brand value and exposure and ceiling... You just sold out Miami, you sold out Texas, you’re going to sell out Vegas or wherever that might be,” he started.
“If he beats Billy Joe Sauders, if he beats Caleb Plant, that’s when we go international. We look at the Middle East, we look at China, we look at the UK.
“He told me yesterday he wants to box for seven more years.”