Billy Joe Saunders can take inspiration from UFC legend Michael Bisping after gruesome eye injury caused by Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez

Billy Joe Saunders may well feel as though the world is conspiring against him right now.

The Brit surrendered his WBO super-middleweight world title in a unification fight with pound-for-pound great Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez on Saturday night in Dallas, Texas.

4

Before being stopped at the end of the eighth round, Saunders was boxing well and using his slick southpaw stance to infuriate and, at times, bemuse the Mexican.

However, a crushing right uppercut fractured multiple bones around his eye socket and left him requiring immediate surgery to potentially save his eyesight, let alone his career.

To make matters worse, the official scorecards at the time of the stoppage reflect harshly on what was a valiant performance by the Brit on foreign soil – he was down convincingly on all three of the judge’s cards.

Saunders is said to have pocketed a cool $8million (£5.6m) from the fight itself, yet the money was never important to the 31-year-old.

4

This was a fight about legacy, proving he belonged amongst the elite in the sport, and doing the seemingly impossible and beating one of the very best behind enemy lines.

Although Saunders remains one of Britain’s finest boxers and a former two-weight world champion, the road to recovery is likely to be long and arduous after suffering the first defeat of his 31-fight career.

And Canelo’s trainer, Eddy Reynoso, is wished him well in his recovery from surgery.

“On behalf of the entire team that make up the Canelo team, we wish you a speedy recovery and that you continue on in your wonderful champion career. Blessings.”

Fortunately, he is not the first Brit to receive a gruesome eye injury and recover to have a successful career, with UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping a prime example of succeeding against all odds.

In 2013, Bisping suffered a detached retina after a high kick from Vitor Belfort rendered him unconscious in the second round of their bout. It later transpired the Brazilian had cheated by taking performance enhancing drugs.

4

He would fight an astonishing ELEVEN times after the incident, even though he was clinically blind, and managed to win the middleweight world title in 2016 with a first round knockout.

It capped a remarkable year for ‘The Count’, who had defeated Anderson Silva at the 02 Arena in February, before then defending the belt against Dan Henderson in Manchester in October.

However, he never told anyone the truth about the extent of his injury apart from his wife, in the fear he would be stopped from competing.

"It was very stressful," he said on the ‘Wild Rides’ podcast. "The problem was, every fight you have, you do your training camp, you fly to wherever it is... you fly all your team out there, get the flights, hotel, meals, and you've got to pay them all for coming.

4

“And then you've got to see a local doctor the day of the fight. I'm like, s***, this guy might be the guy who pulls you from the fight, the guy who takes a look at your eyes and says, ‘F*** this, you're not fighting.’"

He opted for a glass eye when he retired from fighting to preserve his acting career, something UFC President Dana White had no idea about, but the bravery and fortitude shown can hopefully inspire Saunders.

There are plenty of enticing domestic offers for Saunders to fight again when he makes a full recovery; Chris Eubank Jr, Callum Smith and even John Ryder could well be on his horizon.

Whatever Saunders decides is next for him, be it inside or outside the ring, the 31-year-old has the perfect inspiration to come back from the brink in UFC legend Bisping.