THE Canelo Alverez uppercut that broke Billy Joe Saunders’ eye socket looks even more devastating in slow motion.
Mexican Canelo ripped the WBO super-middleweight world title away from his British rival in brutal fashion.
The pair had locked horns for seven rounds with underdog Saunders more than holding his own.
But after foolishly taunting his opponent, Saunders was made to pay.
In trademark fashion, Canelo pounced when his moment came in the eighth round.
Saunders attempted a big right hook but Alvarez managed to evade the swing in expert fashion.
And with the Hertfordshire fighter exposed and vulnerable, Canelo unleashed an utterly savage right uppercut.
Saunders managed to stay on his feet but was clearly hurt after cracking his orbital bone.
He battled through until the end of the round – but that proved the end.
‘Superb’ could not carry on and quit before the ninth, instead heading to hospital to get checked over.
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And the damage looks set to rule Saunders out for a lengthy period.
Speaking to iFL TV, Eddie Hearn said: “You could see as soon as he [Canelo] hit him [Saunders] that he’d done his eye socket.
“I think because he couldn’t see, the next round was going to be a bad situation. I think he would have got badly hurt in that round.
“He’s gone to hospital and I believe he’ll have that operated on immediately. So he’s going to be out for a long, long time.
“But he’s a world-class fighter who lost to the pound-for-pound number one. He’s a two-weight world champion.
“If he wants to carry on there’s some big fights out there for him. He may feel he has got to a stage where he’s been there, he’s done it, he’s seen it all. We’ll back him 100 per cent.”
Saunders was hoping to go 31-0 in his pro career, with one superfan already getting a huge tattoo of the ‘win’ across his back before his hero stepped into the ring.
But Canelo had other ideas and claimed his 15th world title by the age of 30.
The consolation for Saunders after his first career defeat as his injury heals will be the £3.5million he is expected to pick up.
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Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
