Notebook: Saunders on fighting Canelo in May: 'You have to dare to be great'

Zhang hospitalized; Dirrell-Davis ends in draw; Prograis deal

Throughout the lead up to Canelo Alvarez’s mandatory super middleweight title defense against Avni Yildirim on Saturday night at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Alvarez was already looking ahead to his next fight.

Fellow titleholder Billy Joe Saunders seemed to be on Alvarez’s mind just about as much as Yildirim. Weeks before defending his unified belts against Yildirim, Alvarez, pending a win, and Saunders agreed to fight next in a three-belt unification bout on May 8 (Cinco de Mayo weekend).

In the ring following Alvarez’s massively one-sided third-round knockout of Yildirim, who got knocked down in the third round and then quit on his stool after the round, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn officially announced that Alvarez and Saunders would fight next. On cue, a promotional video then played for the crowd of about 15,000 and the DAZN viewing audience.

The 30-year-old Alvarez (55-1-2, 37 KOs), of Mexico, has said many times that his goal is to become the first-ever undisputed super middleweight world champion, and that means attempting to add Saunders’ WBO belt to his collection to get three-quarters of the way to the achievement. It’s a fight that was set for last May but had yet to be formally announced and then was canceled because the sports world shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Now, it is official and Saunders (30-0, 14 KOs), 31, a southpaw from England, who will be making his third 168-pound title defense, is just as anxious for the chance to unify as Alvarez.

“Canelo, I’m ready to rock and roll,” said Saunders, a former middleweight titlist, who vacated to move up in weight in 2019 because he would have been stripped following a positive test for a performance enhancing drug before a defense against Demetrius Andrade. “You have to dare to be great and you aren’t going to be a great if you don’t beat the greats. I believe I am the only one with the footwork, knowhow, skillset, mindset and brain to unlock that door in Canelo.

“He’s the main man in the sport and the face of boxing. You have to give him respect. He hasn’t ducked anyone, he’s beaten good names, but nobody is unbeatable, and I believe I have got the tools to beat him if I use them properly and if the game plan comes off that I believe works.”

Saunders has beaten credible opponents such as Chris Eubank Jr., David Lemieux and Andy Lee at middleweight. But Alvarez is by far his biggest fight.

“I am looking at the golden ticket to cement my legacy, and that’s how you have to go in there to beat him,” Saunders said. “I’ve won everything from Southern Area to world titles. I could say, ‘I’ve won it all, been to the Olympics, I’m unbeaten - I’ll see you later.’ But I’ve only just turned 31, I’ve got no miles on the clock, haven’t taken any punishment. I believe he’s been in harder fights than me and has more miles, so I want to cement my legacy and beat him.”

Saunders’ resume at super middleweight is thin. He won a vacant belt from the obscure Shefat Isufi in 2019 and has defended it against the equally unknown Marcelo Esteban Coceres and the faded Martin Murray in December.

“This is one of the biggest fights in the sport of boxing,” Hearn said. “The pound-for-pound king on the road to undisputed against the unbeaten champion who has long believed he can overcome him. After missing a chance to fight and celebrate on Cinco de Mayo last year this is going to be very special.”

Heavyweight Zhang hospitalized

Chinese heavyweight Zhilei Zhang, who fought to a 10-round majority draw with Jerry Forrest on the Alvarez-Yildirim undercard, was taken to the hospital following the bout and will spend at least a couple of nights there, manager Terry Lane said Sunday.

“He had a good training camp that included several good sparring sessions. But in the locker room afterward, we noticed some concerning symptoms and took Zhang to the hospital, where he will spend a couple of nights,” Lane said in a statement. “The good news is that all of his neurological scans are clear. However, he is suffering from anemia, high enzyme levels, and low-level renal failure, which may have been caused by severe dehydration.

“We will address these issues and Zhang Zhilei will be back. We want to thank everyone for their concern and kind words of support that our team has received. We also want to send a special thank you to Matchroom for providing such wonderful support at this time.”

Zhang (22-0-1, 17 KOs), 37, appeared to be on his way to an easy victory after knocking down Forrest (26-4-1, 20 KOs) in each of the first three rounds to open a big lead. But Forrest staged a comeback, taking over the fight after the fifth round as Zhang appeared to badly fade and was nearly stopped in the 10th round. He also had a point deducted for repeated holding in the ninth round, which was the difference between a Zhang win or draw.

“What a roller coaster of a night,” Lane said. “Zhilei Zhang started off better than we could have hoped with three knockdowns in the first three rounds. But credit and respect to the game Jerry Forrest who battled back for a 10-round draw. We are unhappy that a referee's point deduction changed the outcome of the fight from a Zhang win to a draw, but we have bigger immediate issues as it was apparent to us that Zhang was not himself in the second half of the fight.”

Dirrell, Davis fight to draw

Two-time super middleweight titlist Anthony Dirrell and Kyrone Davis fought to a split draw in their WBC semifinal super middleweight title eliminator in the Premier Boxing Champions on Fox main event Saturday night at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles.

The relatively action-free fight was close and tactical throughout and ended with one judge scoring it 115-113 for the heavily favored Dirrell, one judge having it 115-113 for Davis and one judge scoring it 114-114.

“I thought I won the fight. I pushed the fight, hit him with cleaner punches,” Dirrell said. “He hit gloves a lot. I knew it was going to be a draw as soon as they said it was going to be a split decision. I can’t control what the judges do and I respect them all because they have different perspectives and angles on what is happening.”

The fight was the first for Dirrell (33-2-2, 24 KOs), 36, of Flint, Michigan, since he was stopped on cuts in the ninth round and lost his title to David Benavidez in a competitive fight in September 2019.

“I was pressing the fight, I wasn’t tired at all. My jab was working. But I can’t stop what the judges think. Davis fought well. He did what he was supposed to, came in with a good game plan. He was boxing, he normally doesn’t do that. But we pressed the action.”

Davis (15-2-1, 6 KOs), 26, of Wilmington, Delaware, came in with little name recognition or resume but fought even up against the most notable opponent of his career.

“I thought I won the fight, 116-112. It was a great opportunity. They doubted me,” Davis said. “They told me he was going to knock me out. This was supposed to be a showcase for him but it wasn’t. My body felt well. I felt good. Anthony Dirrell is a two-time world champion. I really wanted to make a statement. A draw is not as bad as a loss but I really don’t like breaking even.

“It was my first 12-rounder so it was a little unfamiliar for me. I knew he was experienced, but I kept my composure and pushed through it. I stuck to the game plan that (trainer) Stephen ‘Breadman’ Edwards gave me.”

Quick hits

Former junior welterweight titlist Regis Prograis will fight Ivan Redkach in a 10-rounder at a contract weight of 142 pounds on the Jake Paul-Ben Askren pay-per-view card Triller is putting on April 17, multiple sources told Fight Freaks Unite. Prograis had been negotiating a multi-fight deal with Premier Boxing Champions but could not come to terms and took a one-fight offer from Triller. Prograis (25-1, 21 KOs), 32, of Houston, lost his title to Josh Taylor in a unification fight in the World Boxing Super Series final in 2019 and returned on a one-fight deal with PBC to stop Juan Heraldez in the third round of his last fight in October. Redkach (23-5-1, 18 KOs), 34, a Ukrainian southpaw based in Los Angeles, is coming off a decision loss to former two-division titlist Danny Garcia in January 2020.

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The long-awaited grudge match between New Zealand countrymen Joseph Parker, a former heavyweight titlist, and Junior Fa, who were 2-2 against each other as amateurs, turned out to be a clinch fest with Parker winning a unanimous decision at Spark Arena in Auckland on Saturday. Parker won 117-111, 115-113 and an absurdly wide 119-109. There was a big atmosphere thanks to the roughly 10,000 fans in attendance but they got little for their time or money because Parker (28-2, 21 KOs), 29, and Fa (19-1, 10 KOs), 31, spent most of the fight in clinches with very little clean punching. “Junior Fa and his team did a great job and it was a lot closer than we expected,” said Parker, who won his fourth fight in a row. There was a lot of ring rust between two fighters that haven’t fought in a year.” The win could set Parker up for a bout against England’s Derek Chisora (32-10, 23 KOs).

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In a rare world title fight between Filipinos, Rene Mark Cuarto lifted the IBF strawweight belt from Pedro Taduran (19-2-2, 11 KOs), 24, by unanimous decision on Saturday in General Santos City, Philippines. He won 115-113 on all three scorecards. Taduran (14-3-1, 11 KOs), 24, was making his second defense.

Show and tell

I don’t think I’ve ever met a boxing fan who wasn’t also a Thomas Hearns fan. He was one of the most exciting fighters of all time and he fought everybody. What’s there not to love? In August 1980, Hearns was 28-0 when he challenged fellow future Hall of Famer Pipino Cuevas, who was making his 12th welterweight world title defense. The fight, which took place in Hearns’ hometown of Detroit, ended with Hearns winning the title by scoring one of the most destructive knockouts of his career in the second round. The program is somewhat tough to find, but here is one in supreme condition that is in my collection.

Saunders photo: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing; Zhang photo: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing; Dirrell-Davis photo: Sean Michael Ham/TGB Promotions