Billy Joe’s set to rule the world
BILLY JOE SAUNDERS had his ‘Joe Calzaghe against Jeff Lacy’ moment when he schooled David Lemieux in Montreal last week.
There comes a time when every fighter with ambitions to rule their division needs to become a world star rather than just a world champion.
Calzaghe’s moment came when he completely outclassed big American hope Lacy in Manchester in 2006. The Welshman had ruled as WBO super-middleweight champion for seven years before that night.
But it was only then did the world really stand up and take notice as he thrashed the man who was supposed to end his reign.
Calzaghe then got his big nights against Mikkel Kessler, Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jnr before leaving the sport as a great.
Finest
Now the same should happen for WBO middleweight champion Saunders after he put in the coolest of displays in the freezing temperatures of Canada.
Lemieux barely laid a glove on him and it is up there alongside Tyson Fury’s performance against Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 as one of the finest displays by a British fighter abroad.
Now those across the Atlantic will take Saunders seriously as a contender for the winner of the Gennady Golovkin and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez rematch. What a fine way to cap the year for Saunders, too. Just last December he struggled to a points win over Artur Akavov in Scotland, then had a June fight with Golovkin fall through despite contracts being signed. But maybe that was a blessing in disguise as the Hatfield fighter is now in far better shape and form after his link-up with new trainer Dominic Ingle. When he gets that big night against Golovkin or Alvarez, they will be facing the best of Saunders and he is a match for anyone. It was also a fantastic finish to the year for BoxNation and BT Sport. We did our first show back in March with BT and the partnership keeps going from strength to strength. There is little doubt we delivered the best fights on our channels compared to the other broadcasters. And, with the top talent and bright prospects in our stable, 2018 is only going to be bigger and better.