BILLY JOE SAUNDERS’ career-defining fight with Canelo Alvarez has been well worth the weight as he looks in the best shape of his life.
The slick southpaw travels to Texas ripped and ready for his super-middleweight unification with Canelo.
Mexican superstar Alvarez knows a thing or two about going up and down the divisions, having won world titles at FOUR weights.
For Saunders, it has been more a battle of staying disciplined out of training camp, having been guilty of piling on the pounds before.
Here, SunSport looks at his amazing body transformation over the years as he looks to have reached peak physical condition.
2008
Saunders represented Team GB at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing boxing in the welterweight division of 69kg or 10st 8lb.
Still a teenager, he looked leaner in muscle compared to his years in the pro ranks.
Saunders in 2009 turned pro, a year after being eliminated in round two of the Olympics and moved up to middleweight.
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2014
Saunders grew into his body as he matured as a pro in the 11st 4lb middleweight division.
His biggest win before moving up to world level came against domestic rival Chris Eubank Jr.
That night he edged out on a split-decision and proved he could box over the 12 round distance.
2016
Saunders won the WBO middleweight title in 2015 with an excellent win over Andy Lee but his momentum was halted afterwards.
The newly crowned champion ballooned up in size and a photo while he was jogging revealed the extent of his weight gain.
Saunders did trim back to middleweight to defend his title against Artur Akavov in December 2016 but his fight to get down to 160lb was the reason behind his lacklustre performance.
2017
After an extraordinary transformation, Saunders looked a new man when he stepped on the scales to face Willie Monroe Jr in September 2017.
And the performance matched as he easily outboxed the American over the distance.
He followed it up with a career-best showing against David Lemieux three months later.
2018
Despite two big wins in 2018, only a year later again Saunders suffered setbacks and failed to land a big fight.
It led to him taking a late-notice bout against Ghanaian Charles Adamu before the year was out.
The fight was held at a catchweight and Saunders came in at 178.5lb, looking noticeably fleshier.
2020
Fast forward two years and after winning the super-middleweight title and signing with promoter Eddie Hearn, Saunders was in line to fight Canelo.
It was later cancelled amid the coronavirus pandemic, with Martin Murray instead given a shot at the WBO belt.
Saunders won comfortably on the cards but looked in fine shape as he weighed in at the 12stone limit.
2021
Saunders’ weight problems look to be a thing of the past as he showed off his lean frame ahead of his unification with Canelo.
The two-division champ posted his sensational frame recently, revealing he is possibly in the best shape of his career.
A win for Saunders would rank among the best for a Brit on away soil.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
