Billy Joe Saunders wants to get back in the ring. The former world champion hasn't fought since May 2021 but he's itching to lace up the gloves again.
Saunders last stepped through the ropes against Canelo Alvarez. He started well, boxing on the back foot, but got caught with an uppercut in the eighth round. His corner pulled him out to prevent further damage.
Before that loss, Saunders had quite a career. He turned pro in 2009 and quickly racked up British, Commonwealth, and European titles at middleweight. In 2015, he won the WBO middleweight title with a majority decision over Andy Lee. He defended it successfully against Willie Monroe Jr. and David Lemieux, showing off his defensive skills and ring smarts.
One of his biggest wins came against Chris Eubank Jr. in a much-hyped showdown between the long-time rivals.
Now, after three years away, Saunders is thinking about coming back. He talked about it in an interview with iFL TV.
"You know what, it's very difficult because you have peace when you're away from it but you miss it when you're not around it as well. Look, I've been boxing since I was five. I've been in the game 30 years. Two years, three years, even five years wouldn't seem a long time to me but I understand age catches up with people."
Saunders revealed he's been talking with Eubank's team about a rematch.
"We were in strong talks with the Eubank's team about a month ago now. We were more or less where we needed to be. The only thing stopping things from progressing was the warm-up fight, you can't expect me to be out the ring three years and just jump into a big fight because of money. I'm not too bothered if I get forgot about or a promoter offers something. We'll see where it goes."
He said the offer was good, but he needs a tune-up fight first.
"They [Eubank's team] offered me a lot of money, fair play to them and talks haven't really broken up so there is still something there, I just need a plan in front of me to move forward."
Saunders is confident he's still got what it takes to compete at the top level.
"I really, really, miss boxing I really want to be part of it. I'll still be the baddest super-middleweight in my opinion, definitely in Britain and Europe."
While Saunders is eyeing a comeback, Eubank Jr. might have other plans. He's got a long-running feud with Conor Benn that looks more likely to happen than the Saunders rematch.
