By: Hans Themistode
The date is set and the time is also locked in. The only thing remaining is the venue. Yet, according to reports, that appears to be on the verge of being settled upon as well.
As first reported by Mike Coppinger of The Athletic, Canelo Alvarez vs Billy Joe Saunders will take place at either AT&T Stadium in Arlington Texas, or Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Although both venues are currently being discussed, AT&T stadium could have the edge. Earlier this week, Texas governor Greg Abbott lifted the mask mandate. Meaning, residents of the state were no longer required to wear masks whenever they left their homes. In addition to that, Abbott also reopened businesses at 100% capacity.
While his ruling has been heavily criticized, Abbott has stuck to his guns. His stubbornness may have forced many to question his sanity but the amount of dollars that a fight in Texas could generate in an arena that could easily fill over 80,000 could edge his state ahead of Nevada where safety protocols are still in place.
For Alvarez, even with his showdown against Saunders roughly nine weeks away, the pound-for-pound star hasn’t begun his training camp just yet. Less than one week ago, the Mexican native pounded no-hoper Avni Yildirim via third-round stoppage at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Florida.
Following the easy win, Alvarez revealed that he would take only one week off before he got himself ready for Saunders.
As for the aforementioned Saunders, on the other hand, he last fought in December of 2020, easily outpointing former title challenger Martin Murray over 12 rounds.