“I said, ‘If you commit suicide now, who is going to look after your sons and daughters and wife?’"

“He had a picture of a small boxing ring on his phone and he was just going to ask him what he thought about the size of this ring. It was a bit of tongue and cheek."

The pair face each other in a super middleweight showdown this weekend for the WBA, WBC, WBO and Ring Magazine titles.

“Obviously, as you can see, I tagged Canelo and [promoter] Eddie Hearn in my last video. The ring is not a problem. Thumbs are up."

Saunders will be the seventh British fighter to face Canelo on the professional circuit and is looking to become the first to defeat boxing's Pound for Pound king.