SAUNDERS IS STEPPING OUT ON ROAD TO REDEMPTION
US PGA: TEE-OFF TIMES
BILLY JOE SAUNDERS is seeking redemption on Saturday after a year he would rather forget.
The Hatfield fighter aims to use his talent in the ring to repair his battered reputation out of it.
In his words, mention the name Billy Joe Saunders and many people think “p***k”.
In September, an online video of the former WBO middleweight champion mocking a drug addict and offering “£150 of crack” to hit a passerby earned him scorn and a £100,000 fine from the British Boxing Board of Control.
“I put my hands up and said I made a silly mistake,” he said. “It’s behind me now. I got rightly punished for it. I deserved every bit of punishment for being so stupid.”
There was still time for his year to take another downward turn.
His world title defence against Demetrius Andrade in Boston was cancelled and with it went almost £2million after he failed a drugs test for the amphetamine Oxilofrine. He would have been cleared to fight in most other US states and the UK as it is not banned out of competition.
“It was a nasal spray I got done for,” said Saunders. “It wasn’t something that was going to help me win, I was just run down.
“People say, ‘Drugs cheat’ but they’re wrong. It’s a name that will stick until you do something great. Once I get in the ring and become world champion again and show people what I’ve got, they’ll have no choice but to say, ‘Fair play’.”
Saunders’ career was in tatters but he had a close friend to turn to in Tyson Fury. He helped Fury deal with his drug and mental health issues and the former heavyweight champion returned the favour.
Saunders said: “I was inspired by what Tyson did against Deontay Wilder – the man got up from being knocked out cold. Tyson had a mental breakdown and came back, I was on the verge of having a mental breakdown and I came back.”
Southpaw Saunders takes the first step of his comeback trail against Shefat Isufi (above) for the vacant WBO super-middleweight belt at Stevenage FC’s Lamex Stadium.
“I just feel I get the backlash and people think I’m a p***k because I’m openly spoken,” added Saunders. (Selected times, BST, USA unless stated) STARTING AT HOLE 1
1.02pm R Knox (Sco), T Hatton (Eng),
H Li (Chn)
1.13 L Westwood (Eng), S Norris (SA), C Howell III
5.32 E Grillo (Arg), D Berger, P Casey (Eng) 5.43 T Finau, B Horschel, I Poulter (Eng) 5.54 R Cabrera Bello (Spa), M Fitzpatrick (Eng), G Woodland
6.05 P Harrington (Ire), M Kaymer (Ger), K Bradley 6.16 D Johnson, J Rahm (Spa), J Spieth 6.27 K Kisner, P Perez, B DeChambeau 6.38 R McIlroy (NI), P Mickelson,
J Day (Aus)
STARTING AT HOLE 10
11.56am P Kizzire, T Pieters (Bel), A Hadwin (Can)
12.18pm H Stenson (Swe), D Lipsky, R Sterne (SA)
12.29 E Van Rooyen (SA), S Lowry (Ire), T Fleetwood (Eng)
12.40 S Garcia (Spa), K Kraft, A Scott (Aus) 12.51 L Oosthuizen (SA), C Hoffman, P Reed
1.02 B Watson, R Fowler, J Rose (Eng) 1.13 X Schauffele, H Matsuyama (Jpn), A Noren (Swe)
1.24 F Molinari (Ita), B Koepka, T Woods 5.21 R Perry, A Bjork (Swe), R Fisher (Eng) 5.32 E Pepperell (Eng), B Grace (SA), R Palmer
6.05 S Stricker, B Harman, P Cantlay 6.38 D Willett (Eng), W Simpson, Z Johnson