Billy Joe Saunders targets Amir Khan fight as Gennady Golovkin and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez line up rematch

Billy Joe Saunders has turned his attentions towards Amir Khan after his plans to take on Gennady Golovkin or Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez went on hold following their controversial draw in Las Vegas.

Saunders retained his WBO middleweight title with a points win against American Willie Monroe Jr on Saturday. His hopes of a quick step up to challenge the winner of the division’s super-fight have been thwarted, however, with a rematch looking likely between Golovkin and Alvarez.

Saunders, 28, is seeking a fresh challenge after his career was revitalised by a tough regime imposed by new trainer Dominic Ingle.

Khan, the former WBA and IBF light-welterweight world champion, stepped up to middleweight for his last fight, when he was beaten by Mexican Alvarez in six rounds in May last year.

Saunders said: “There are some big names out there for me.

“Khan has boxed at 160lbs before. I’d love that. What a fight that would be if he is looking for a big UK night.

“He is a very good name and I’ve watched him for years. I’m not calling him out to be disrespectful to him. I’m doing it because he is a good fighter and he stepped up before, to fight Canelo.

“I just want a good, big fight.”

The dispute about the drawn verdict between Golovkin and Alvarez led to one of the judges, Adelaide Byrd, being temporarily stood down from major fights in Nevada, with other boxing states likely to follow suit.

Most observers had the fight down as a close contest, but Byrd came under fire for scoring it 118-110 to the Mexican, while fellow judges Dave Moretti had it 115-113 in favour of Golovkin and Dan Trella scored it 114-114.

Khan assessed the fight for the Box Nation subscription TV channel and said: “It was a very close fight but I had it by one or two rounds to Golovkin. He was getting all the cheers at the end and Canelo all the boos.”

Alvarez’s backer, Oscar De La Hoya, of Golden Boy Promotions, revealed that his fighter had a rematch clause but said there would be talks before a decision to exercise it was made.

Regarding his next fight, Alvarez, 27, said: “Whatever the people want, that is what we are going to do. One thing is for sure, this is the era of Canelo, my era.”

Golovkin confirmed he wished to defend his WBA, WBC, IBF and IBO titles for a second time. “Of course I want a rematch,” added the 35-year-old Kazakhstani. “This was a real fight. I’m still the champion.”

Retired middleweight legend Bernard Hopkins, now De La Hoya’s promotional partner, said: “I saw one fighter, Alvarez, who is younger and got better in the ring. And I saw one guy get old.”

Meanwhile, Saunders has been warned by his trainer to maintain his focus, following his win over Monroe at the Copper Box Arena in Stratford.

Ingle said: “If he disappears now for more than a week, it’s back to square one. He can mess it up or he can go on to better things.

“He has to be serious and train full time. He has to realise this isn’t something he does for a couple of weeks.”