Saunders Revamped

Will there be a new look to Billy Joe at a new weight, wonders John Dennen

- John Dennen

BILLY JOE SAUNDERS needs to get back in the picture. By the end of 2017 he was riding high. He was the WBO middleweight champion coming off one of the most stylish performances of his career once he’d beaten David Lemieux in Canada. Then he was viewed as a viable opponent for Canelo Alvarez or Gennady Golovkin, the superstars of the sport. But rapidly he began to fade away from that lofty status. Fights with Martin Murray were cancelled, his notorious anti-doping violation saw him surrender his world title to Demetrius Andrade (outside of the ring). His only bout of 2018 was a four-round stoppage win over 41-year-old Charles Adamu. Saunders weighed more than 178lbs.

He is coming out of the wilderness now, even though he should clearly beat Shefat Isufi on Saturday (May 18) at the Lamex Stadium – Stevenage’s football ground. The fight is designed to restore Billy Joe’s options. He is moving up to super-middleweight, a division where big fights can also be made for him. At 168lbs a rematch with Chris Eubank Jnr or taking on the world number one at the weight, Callum Smith, would be major British fights. Victory over Isufi would even restore Saunders to world championship status. A vacant Interim WBO strap was on the line, but with champion Gilberto Ramirez moving up to lightheavy, that now becomes their full title.