Billy Joe Saunders stayed in hospital with 'multiple fractures' following his devastating loss to Saul Alvarez

• Billy Joe Saunders was treated in hospital for multiple fractures to his face.
• He suffered the injuries via a single Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez punch in their Texas fight on Saturday.
• "He's going to be out for a long, long time," the fight's promoter Eddie Hearn said.

Billy Joe Saunders stayed in hospital overnight with "multiple fractures" in his face following a devastating stoppage loss to Saul Alvarez.

Boxing's No.1 fighter "Canelo" hit Saunders so hard with a well-timed uppercut to the face, that the Briton was only able to survive the round before retiring on his stool at the end of the eighth.

It all went down Saturday at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in front of 73,126 fans, a record attendance in the US since the pandemic began.

As Alvarez celebrated his knockout win and made his way to the post-event press conference, Saunders was chaperoned to an ambulance with a white towel draped over his head.

His face throbbed and he appeared to wipe tears from his eyes.

On the DAZN broadcast, the event's Eddie Hearn, who is the chairman of promotion firm Matchroom, said: "He couldn't see. I spoke to [trainer] Mark Tibbs, he said he couldn't see and wouldn't let him go out.

"He busted his eye socket."

The following day, Hearn tweeted: "Just at hospital in Dallas, [Saunders] stayed overnight. [He] suffered multiple fractures to the orbital area and will undergo surgery."

-Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) May 9, 2021

Saunders was treated for a quadripod fracture at the John Peter Smith Hospital in nearby Fort Worth, Texas, according to The Athletic. A quadripod fracture is, in layman's terms, one where there are four points of breakage in the area around the upper cheek and eye socket.

"He's going to be out for a long, long time," Hearn said, per a Boxing Scene report.

The loss was Saunders' first in pro boxing, and his record retreated to 30 wins (14 knockouts) against one defeat.

He surrendered his WBO super middleweight title to Alvarez, who now holds three of the division's four major belts.

Alvarez is now expected to fight Caleb Plant, the only other super middleweight champion, in September.