Billy Joe Saunders gives his verdict on Callum Smith vs John Ryder fight
Saunders ready to embrace YouTubers' big night
To many, Callum Smith is lucky to be world champion.
In his last fight, Smith produced an under-par performance against mandatory challenger John Ryder to retain his WBA and Ring Magazine titles in controversial fashion.
Fellow Brit and super-middleweight titlist Billy Joe Saunders is one of those refusing to criticise Smith, though. The WBO king fought Ryder himself in 2013 and overcame the ‘Gorilla’ via unanimous decision at London’s Copper Box Arena.
Saunders revealed that Ryder was one of his toughest opponents to date and believes people underestimate the ability of the southpaw.
“Look, I think a lot of people look at John Ryder and look at his record and go, ‘Oh yeah, you know, he’s not particularly good,’ ” Saunders told Hearn on Instagram live.
“But I’ve shared the ring with John Ryder. He’s probably given me one of me hardest nights I’ve had. And coming off when we was both unbeaten as well, we didn’t know what it was like to lose. So, I had to push that extra mile, more than anyone else. Or I’ve just got a bit more experience, you know?”
“I believe that John Ryder’s a really good fighter and I believe he’ll give anybody in the division an absolute fight.
“He always comes to fight. He’ll have a boxing match with you. I even sparred him for when I was boxing Willie Monroe. And when I fought him, I thought, ‘What a game c*nt he is.’ You know, because he came in every day, honestly, he came in every day, he was out of shape, he came in every day and give it his all, and I respect him for that.”
Whilst speaking about the fight between Smith and Ryder, Saunders told Hearn - who promotes all three fighters - that he would have welcomed a domestic dust-up with Smith if neither were able to secure the money fight with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.
“I believe that it was a close, close fight,” Saunders said. “You know, if John Ryder would’ve got the nod, you couldn’t have really complained. I had him probably one or two [points] ahead. But Callum Smith’s also a great fighter, and I believe that if the Canelo fight didn’t happen for me or him, you know, it’s the only fight that really makes sense for the UK fans.”
Saunders was expected to take on Canelo on Cinco de Mayo weekend with his 168-pound title on the line at the T-Mobile in Las Vegas until the coronavirus pandemic forced them to postpone the event.
Fans will have to wait on what happens next but Hearn has assured Saunders he’ll be the man to take on Canelo next.
