WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders has long been asking for a fight with either Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez, and now is threatening to move up in weight if he doesn't get either fight.
Saunders spoke with World Boxing News and said he still wants to face the winner of the Canelo vs. Golovkin. Saunders openly admitted that if he didn't get the fight then he would have to move up to super middleweight. The WBO middleweight titleholder also said he does not fear any of the top boxers of the 168-pound division.
?I am a big middleweight and don?t want to give my advantage away, but there is not a super-middleweight that I fear. Most of the top super-middleweights I have sparred and they will tell you I did well. Callum Smith is the only top British one I haven?t worked with. I will go to that weight, but when I have done my work at middleweight,? Saunders said.
Saunders is defending his WBO title against Willie Monroe Jr. on the same day Canelo and Golovkin fight in Las Vegas, Nevada. After Saunders' fight with Avtandil Khurtsidze was canceled, the plan was for Saunders to fight on the same week as the other middleweight title fight so that the schedules for both Saunders and the winner of the other fight would be aligned to make a final unification fight possible.
Despite Saunders holding the title since December 2015, he has only defended his title once when he defeated Artur Akavov via unanimous decision last year.