Interviews
Billy Joe Saunders “50-50” on returning to boxing after Canelo defeat
Billy Joe Saunders says he will consult with his father about his future and admits “everything would have to fall into place” for him to return to the ring following his loss to Canelo Alvarez.
Saunders was defeated for the first time as a professional, losing his WBO super middleweight title in a unification fight against unified champion Canelo in Texas in May.
The 31-year-old retired from a corner kick slow in the eighth round after suffering an eye injury and revealed he was 50-50 on whether he would fight again, but admitted it would be challenging to go down sharing the ring with the agreed pound-for-pound number one pound, who currently holds the WBO, WBA “Super” and WBC 168-pound titles.
In his first interview since the fight he said: Saunders told talkSPORT: “At the end of the day, I’m 31 and if I don’t want to work ever again, if I want to sit down and rest, I can do that.
“And that’s how it should be. I put a lot of time into boxing and paid my dues. This sport has done me very, very good.
“I’m 31 years vintage, I haven’t had any punishment, I haven’t been beaten from pillar to post, I’m not brain dead and I can’t form a sentence, so I have to sit down and consider my options.
“Because the options have to weigh – the thought of me just coming in and fighting for the world ranking or something, belts don’t feed babies.
“Everything would have to fall into place and [be] the right fight.
“Because coming back from fights like this is very challenging. Where are you going to?
“I will talk to my dad because he will have a lot of influence on this matter.
“Honestly, to be candid, the conversation will be more or less about my dad than me.
“This is one of them where it’s 50/50. Whether I think I’ll have one more fight or a few more fights, but they have to be the right kind of fights.
“If he says, ‘Leave it, son, don’t come back for more,’ that’s probably what I’ll do.”
The two-weight world champion was warming up for the fight in the eighth round, but was caught in the chin and broke the orbital bone in his right eye.
Canelo, who is targeting an undisputed title shot in September with an IBF title slate, Caleb’s planthe defeated his seventh British opponent, and while Saunders credits the Mexican with a powerful performance, he insists he expected the four-time world champion to do even better.
“I’m just shaking it all off, thinking long and demanding and really enjoying my time with the kids,” Saunders said.
“I went for surgery, my eye socket was broken, it was broken in three places.
“I’ve got some plates, I’m like the Terminator now, they’ve got me full of metal.
“As soon as I got home, I just spent time with my family and enjoyed my time off without boxing. It was nice.
“A lot of people said, ‘You did well, we had one up, we had you level, we had one down or something.’
“But he is a world-class player and he caught me with a world-class shot, so you have to give the man credit and respect.
“I’ve been in situations like this before and I’ve done it to opponents before and I’ve taken a lot of credit for it, so you’ve got to give it to him.
“He’s a very, very good fighter. He is a very good fighter, very tricky.
“When I got in the ring with him, I thought, ‘Is that all there is to it?’ I expected more, but I guess everyone would be like that when taking on this kind of fight.
Daniel Dubois believes that Tyson Fury will return to the ring and claims that a fight between them may happen.
Fury ended hopes of All-British fights against the likes of Dubois and long-time rival Anthony Joshua after retiring last Monday, less than a month after his second successive defeat to Oleksandr Usyk.
However, “Dynamite” believes that his compatriot will return in a similar mood as when he retired in April 2022, only to return seven months later.
If the “Gypsy King” ends his final retirement, Dubois insists the fight with Joshua must happen, which has opened the door for him to face the winner.
“I think he will definitely come back,” said the 27-year-old talkSPORT.
“He’s always done that throughout his career, mind games and all that.
“So I think he will come back. He plays various characters. He will definitely come back.
“Get them in the ring [Joshua and Fury].
“I want to see them fight now.
“I punched Joshua so he had to fight Fury.
“I want to see what’s left between these two.
“And then maybe I’ll fight the winner.”
The Londoner knocked out “AJ” five rounds in September at Wembley Stadium and on February 22 in Riyad, he will defend the IBF world heavyweight title against Joseph Parker.
Dubois stormed the ring after Usyk’s rematch victory over Fury, calling for a rematch from their August 2023 clash.
The Londoner’s argument for wanting a rematch is based on a controversial low blow in the fifth round of the fight against the Ukrainian, which he believed was a legal shot.
“Usyk, I want to take revenge,” he said.
“Good job tonight.
“I want revenge for the last robbery.
“Let’s sort this out. Let’s go.
Eddie Hearn believes Tyson Fury will retire after a legacy-defining clash with Anthony Joshua.
Fury stunned the boxing world on Monday when he announced his retirement from the sport, leaving behind a megafight with Joshua.
The “Gypsy King” announced his shocking decision less than a month after suffering, among other things, second defeat in a row against Oleksandr Usyk in Riyad, but Joshua’s promoter, Hearn, is convinced that the fighter from Morecambe will return to the ring to fight the long-awaited showdown with “AJ”, who is returning after a fifth-round defeat to Daniel Dubois.
“In my opinion, I think he will come back,” the 45-year-old said talkSPORT.
“But I don’t know him well enough to judge that.
“He’s coming back after two defeats, and these defeats hurt the boys.
“AJ was devastated by the defeat to Dubois and I’m sure Fury was too [with his defeats to Usyk]both are winners.
“I don’t know if Fury can leave one of the biggest fights in the history of the sport on the table.
“I know he’s a competitor. I know he will want to give the British fight fans what they want and I hope we see more of him.
“But if we don’t, God bless the speed and all the best.”
Fury hung up his gloves after defeating Dillian Whyte in April 2022, only to return eight months later for a third fight with Derek Chisora, whom he defeated comfortably at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Hearn said Joshua will now look to secure a clash with the winner of the February 22 fight between his former rivals Dubois and Joseph Parker, who will fight in Riyad for the IBF heavyweight world title.
If Fury returns to fight AJ, the Matchroom boss insists the loser would have nowhere to go.
“They would both be devastated by defeat,” he added.
“It’s one thing to lose the world heavyweight title, but at the same time losing in a fight of this magnitude is the biggest bragging rights.
“At this stage of their career, the last word is goodbye.
“Whoever loses this fight is finished and whoever wins it moves on and that’s what you fight for.
“You’re not just fighting for a legacy, you’re fighting to save your career.
“It’s a huge fight, but it’s not on the table right now.”
Callum Simpson defended his British and Commonwealth super middleweight titles after a second-round victory over Steer Woodall on Saturday at the Park Community Arena in Sheffield.
Simpson (16-0, 11 KO) proved too good for Zak Chelli in his last competition and went on to sweep wide and claim the British and Commonwealth titles last August. Woodall (19-3-1, 12 KO) picked up his best career win, stopping Lerrone Richards in six rounds in an upset in Bolton last June.
This attack ended quickly in the second round, with a right uppercut that left Woodall on wobbly legs, and then another attack punctuated by another right uppercut, leaving “The Stallion” on the deck.
Despite beating the count, referee Mark Bates waved off the fight shortly afterwards.
Simpson dedicated his victory his dead sisterwho died tragically in August in a road accident.
“It’s bittersweet,” the 28-year-old said Heavenly sports after the fight.
“I won these titles in front of all my fans, but there’s one person that I think everyone knows who I wish was here, but I know she’s looking down on me and I make her proud.”
Dubois is tied with Camara
On the card below, Caroline Dubois (10-0-1, 5 KO) made her first defense of her WBC lightweight title against Canadian Jessica Camara (14-4-1, 3 KO), but the fight ended in a technical draw.
The fight was stopped due to a cut to Camara’s left eye from the head collision, and she also went down in the first round.
Forrest stops Miller
Cruiserweight prospect Scott Forrest needed just two rounds to defeat Deevorn Miller.
Miller (8-3, 6 KO) lost once in the first and second rounds, while Forrest (7-0, 4 KO) won outright.
Undercard remaining
In the featherlight heavyweight division, where Billy Deniz defeated Mickey Ellison (15-8, 5 KO) by one point.
Deniz (13-0, 5 KO) won with a score of 77-76.
In the six-round middleweight division, Sam Hickey (2-0, 1 KO) stopped Lewis Howells (3-2) three times en route to a first-round victory, and Mauro Silva (7-0, 3 KO) scored a 59-56 victory against Emmanuel Zion (6-3, 3 KOs).
Ellis Price (2-0, 1 KO) stopped Liam Fitzmaurice (0-1) twice en route to a first-round lightweight victory.
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