Billy Joe Saunders was reportedly closing in on getting a chance to fight Saul "Canelo" Alvarez this spring before the coronavirus seemingly erased any chance of that happening.
This comes after the WBO super middleweight champion's reported fight with Gennadiy Golovkin in 2017 and bout with Demetrius Andrade in 2018 fell through as well — though the British boxer's failed drug test was the reason for the latter.
"These big fights ... it's like I got this sort of curse on me," Saunders said during an online fighter Q&A session with Matchroom USA president Eddie Hearn on Monday.
That being said, Saunders sincerely hopes to get a crack at Canelo and not lose the opportunity to GGG, who reportedly might get a trilogy fight with the Mexican boxing sensation once the COVID-19 outbreak subsides. If and when his chance comes, Saunders plans on using that grand stage as a proving point to the boxing world.
"I think he's a brilliant fighter, he's complete, but the thing is (that) I believe we've seen the best of (Canelo). We haven't seen the best of me yet," Saunders told Hearn. "The Golovkin fights, the Danny Jacobs fight, he's not going to get any better than that.
"I believe that on my night, as long everything is bang on right for me, I'll be able to beat Canelo Alvarez," he continued stating confidently. "But he's a brilliant champion. You have to beat the best to be the best."
The 30-year-old Saunders scored a unanimous decision over Shefat Isufi to win the WBO super middleweight title in May before defending it via an 11th-round TKO of Marcelo Esteban Coceres in November to improve his record to 29-0 with 14 KOs.
Canelo (53-1-2, 36 KOs) fought the same two months, as he produced a unanimous decision over Daniel Jacobs followed by an 11th-round KO of Sergey Kovalev to become a four-division world champion.