Billy Joe Saunders Considering Retirement Following Canelo Alvarez Loss

Almost a month removed from the first loss of his boxing career, Billy Joe Saunders is in a weird spot. Not only did Canelo Alvarez hand him his snatch his ‘O’, but he also handed him a potentially career-ending injury as well. The bout, contested for the unification of the super middleweight titles, was one of the biggest sporting spectacles of 2021.

Talking to talkSPORT, ‘Superb’ revealed how he is planning to go about his career. Saunders, who reportedly earned about £5.5million from the Canelo fight, thinks this could be the appropriate time for him to hang it up.

“At the end of the day, I’m 31 years old, if I don’t ever wanna work again, wanna sit back, wanna chill, I can do that. And so it should be, I’ve put a lot of time into boxing and I’ve paid my dues. The sport’s been very, very good to me,” Saunders said.

Saunders further said that the ultimate decision of the future of his career would live with his dad. “I’ll have a chat with my dad because he’ll have a big say in it. To be fair, it will be more or less down to my dad in the conversation more than me if I’m honest. If he says, ‘Leave it, son, don’t go back for more,’ then that’s probably what I’ll do.”

READ MORE: What Went Wrong for Billy Joe Saunders Against Canelo Alvarez?

Was the Canelo fight the biggest moment of Billy Joe Saunders’ career? 

Canelo Alvarez had been looking unbeatable since the Floyd Mayweather defeat. Saunders was undefeated in his pro career. That set the stage for one of the biggest bouts in modern boxing and Saunders’s career. Over 73,000 people congregated to see the clash of the middleweights at the AT & T stadium in Arlington, Texas.

After 8 rounds, Alvarez was ahead, but Saunders was also having his moments throughout the fight. The Mexican landed heavy uppercuts in the 8th which hurt ‘Superb’, forcing him to quit on the stool.

READ MORE: Eddie Hearn Provides an Important Update on Billy Joe Saunders’ Career-Ending Injury

Billy Joe Saunders underwent an intense medical procedure to repair facial damages sustained in the Canelo fight. A corrective operation of that magnitude would have kept him out of competition for a long time. However, based on Saunders’ comments, there is a high chance that his last bout could have been the last time fans saw him box.

Do you think it would be a wise decision for the 31-year-old to retire from the sport at this point?