Billy Joe Saunders Eyes Comeback Five Years After Canelo Loss

Billy Joe Saunders hasn't thrown a punch in a professional ring since May 2021, when Canelo Alvarez forced an eighth-round retirement in front of a packed AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Now, more than five years and one wrecked eye socket later, the two-weight former world champion is talking about coming back — and he's not exactly lacking confidence about where he'd fit in.

Speaking to Talksport, the 36-year-old said the itch to fight again comes down to not wanting his career to end on a defeat. His pitch is blunt: even at 70% of the fighter he once was, he doesn't see anyone in the current landscape who'd genuinely trouble him. He hedged the claim slightly, admitting you never really know until the first bell rings — but the message was clear enough.

The Résumé Behind the Bravado

Saunders isn't just talking. He held the WBO middleweight title and later the WBO super-middleweight belt, making him one of the more accomplished British operators of his generation. His slick southpaw movement and ring IQ were always the selling points, and those are exactly the tools he's leaning on now — the kind that theoretically age better than raw punch output.

The Canelo fight remains the obvious asterisk. Saunders had his moments early before a broken orbital bone ended things on the stool, and it's stayed the one blemish he clearly can't stomach. That's the whole motivation here: a career built on being awkward, unbeaten and hard to look good against, capped by a loss he'd rather rewrite.

What a Return Actually Looks Like

The complication is time. At 36 with half a decade of inactivity, Saunders would be gambling on muscle memory carrying him through against fighters who've stayed sharp. Five years is a long lay-off in any sport, and boxing is not forgiving to those who assume the old rhythm just snaps back.

As for Canelo, the man who retired him has moved on. The Mexican now sits at 63-2-2 (39 KO) and is coming off a unanimous-decision loss to Terence Crawford, with a September card in Las Vegas next on the docket. A Saunders rematch isn't on anyone's radar — but if he wants to erase that one loss on his ledger, the clock is very much ticking.