Billy Joe Saunders is confident that he is the man to stop the irepressible form of Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez when they meet in a huge super-middleweight unification fight, airing live Saturday May 8 on DAZN in most parts of the world.
Reigning WBO 168lbs champion Saunders will put his belt up against the WBA (Super), WBC and The Ring (lineal) titles of Canelo, and the undefeated Brit told The Ak & Barak Show (on DAZN and Sirius XM Fight Nation) on Friday evening that the bout will be remembered as one of the biggest results in the division's illustrious history.
"This will be one of the biggest upsets in British boxing history," Saunders told A&B. "It will be the biggest upset, in fact.
"I will be doing this for every gipsy. English, Irish, Scotch, Welsh, American, you name it. That’s what I’m doing this for. We’re sticking together."
The current pandemic meant Saunders could not be there in Miami for Canelo's recent one-sided demolition of mandatory challenger Avni Yildirim to face off with his next opponent, but nonetheless Saunders was as unimpressed as most fight fans were with the Turkish boxer's efforts.
He said: "I didn’t get the chance. A lot of restrictions due to COVID at the minute, obviously, and we tried to get over there for the fight but by the time we got close (to arranging something), it was too late.
"He got the job done, with no injuries. That’s the main thing. He got the job done against a bum and now we move on to the 8th.
"You’re only as good as your last performance, and was my last performance against Martin Murray good enough to beat Canelo Alvarez? Probably not. Definitely not, in fact.
"And we couldn’t get too much from Alvarez’s last performance, because this fella just went in there and jacked it in after three rounds.
"It was a bit embarrassing, to be honest with you. I won’t embarrass myself for that money. I wouldn’t do that."
The fight comes with a quick turnaround for the Mexican following the Feb. 27 three-round formality, and Saunders himself has yet to begin training camp for the unification fight due to illness.
Nonetheless, he told Ak and Barak that nobody will hear him make any excuses if he fails to unify on Cinco de Mayo weekend.
"Obviously everyone knows I’ve got to be at my best against Canelo," he continued. "I’m pushing 10 days off training right now, I’ve got the flu so I’ve not started camp properly yet.
"There’s one thing with me: if I get beat — or even when I win a fight — I’ll never make an excuse. Even if there was an excuse. From my end, zero excuses. If I’m not good enough to beat him on the 8th, I’ll never be good enough to beat him.
"It’s not going to be a walk in the park for Canelo, by no means."
Many expect IBF super-middle champion Caleb Plant to be next for the victor in September, in a bout that could completely unify the division.
Saunders acknowledged the possibility, but hit back at the American's recent claims that Saunders will start strong against Canelo but ultimately fall behind and give up.
"I don’t really look past my opponents, because that’s where certain people go wrong," said Saunders. "I see that Caleb Plant is mentioned a lot with Canelo about unifying, but Canelo has a job against me first.
"I think Caleb Plant’s a good fighter, to be honest. I like Caleb, I think he’s got a good style, but to say I’ll give up (vs. Canelo)? Nah.
"Giving up is not in our culture, where we’re from. We don’t do that, in our culture. We go out on our shields. We go out like Spartans."
Watch the entire Billy Joe Saunders interview on The Ak & Barak Show, as he discusses even more topics including whether he will finally fight Demetrius Andrade one day, where the Canelo bout will take place, Five Guys burgers, hiring Ak & Barak as his personal EMTs and more.