Billy Joe Saunders suffred the injury in the eight round of his super middleweight unfication fight with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on Sunday.
The Briton suffered the impact of Canelo’s hard blow, as he was transferred to a hospital near AT&T Stadium, in Texas, for observations, which confirmed fractures in the orbital bone of his right eye.
Speaking at his press conference, Matchroom Boxing promotor Eddie Hearn insisted that Saunders has to go through a long recovery process before returning to the ring. It was also speculated as a possibility that he would announce a possible retirement, something that was quickly discounted.
“You could see as soon as Canelo hit 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.” Hearn said.
“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. 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%.” Hearn added.
At the end, in the last hours, Saunders himself came out to talk about the fight and give his first sensations after his first professional loss against Canelo. The 31-year-old has insisted he will fight again at the end of the 2021.
“You win and you lose something. I didn’t feel out of my league, but I was caught with a good shot and couldn’t see. Thanks to everyone who watched the fight. I’ll be back soon . God bless you all,” Saunders said.
