******** Billy Joe Saunders admitted he struggled against Coceres
Billy Joe Saunders says he wants to fight Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez but admitted there was “something missing” as he labored to a knockout win over Marcelo Esteban Coceres in Los Angeles.
Saunders, 30, floored Argentina’s Coceres three times in the 11 th round, prompting a stoppage, to defend his WBO world super-middleweight title.
The Briton, on his US debut, conceded “it wasn’t a world class performance”.
“Canelo may look at that and think now is the time to get me,” said Saunders.
“I knocked him out when I knew I had to. I thought ‘you have to stop him’ and I stopped him.
“I knew I had to dig very deep. I am not one to make excuses. I came over here five days out, nine hours’ time difference, I haven’t slept right for five days.
“Tonight wasn’t a world-class performance, it was a world class finish but not a world class performance. That shows you what sort of a fighter I am.
“When someone is talking abut Canelo and you are fighting an Argentinean, you don’t look past him but one eye is off. I have to look at the performance. I was trying to get my feet working, it was like I was dipped in glue. There was something missing, maybe it was the travel, I don’t know. “
‘Canelo and rivals may fancy their chances’
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