Johnny Nelson says Billy Joe Saunders may have to replicate Floyd Mayweather Jr’s performance against Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez if he is to stop the Mexican superstar this weekend. WBO super-middleweight champion Saunders is set to take on WBC and WBA king Canelo in front of 65,000 people in Texas on Saturday. The Briton is undefeated in 30 professional fights having won world titles at two weights but still enters the contest as the underdog, up against the man widely regarded as the best-for-pound fighter in the world. Canelo has won 55 of 58 bouts with his only career defeat coming against Mayweather back in 2013. Then operating at the very peak of his powers, Mayweather provided a masterful display to take the sting out of the 23-year-old Canelo, making the Mexican miss and picking his shots with incisive combinations to ease to a majority decision win.
Saunders has consistently caused problems for his opponents with his evasive style with Canelo not coming up against a natural southpaw since his 2015 win over James Kirkland. And former WBO cruiserweight champion Nelson believes the Briton certainly has the tools to cause some serious trouble on the night. ‘Billy is a very awkward southpaw, very slick and very confident,’ Nelson told Metro.co.uk.
