Billy Joe Saunders went under the knife after suffering a facial injury following his stoppage loss to Canelo Alvarez in their super middleweight title unification clash.

Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn bared the news, saying Saunders sustained multiple fractures on the orbital area of his eye, which led the camp of the British boxer to pull him out of the bout against Alvarez.

The Mexican champion unleashed a forceful right uppercut that landed squarely on Saunders’ right eye in the decisive eighth round.

Saunders’ eye looked visibly swollen after the punch and his corner decided to throw in the towel before the ninth round to prevent further damage.

“His eye socket was caved in and he could not see. I did not get the response I wanted from him,” Saunders’ trainer Mark Tibbs said in a YouTube video posted by Behind the Gloves.

“I had to pull it,” Tibbs added.

Alvarez (56-1-2) – the WBA and WBC champion – wrested the WBO title from Saunders and now owns 3 of the 4 world titles in the super middleweight division.

Meanwhile, Saunders absorbed the first loss of his professional career after 30 consecutive victories. – Rappler.com