The Hatfield star, who had travelled from his training camp in Marbella with trainer Jimmy Tibbs, was stood up for the third time in a row by the seaside keyboard warrior who was replaced on the top table with a cardboard cutout.
Chris Eubank Snr’s reason for not letting his son not attend the press conference was because he claimed the security provided by promoter Frank Warren was not adequate for the safety of his son, following comments that Saunders would “slap” Eubank Jnr.
#9 WBO 160lb contender Chris Eubank Jr (18-0, 11 KOs) methodically broke down his 25-year-old opponent Omar Siala (23-18-3, 10 KOs) before stopping him in the 2nd round last night at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England.
Eubank Jr landed a tremendous right uppercut that sent Siala reeling towards the ropes. Eubank Jr then followed up with four additional uppercuts before referee Alvin Finch stepped in to stop the fight before Eubank Jr could seriously hurt Siala.
Unbeaten #1 WBO Matt Korobov (24-0, 14 KOs) and #3 WBO Andy Lee (33-2, 23 KOs) will be tangling for the vacant WBO middleweight title in early December in the UK, according to promoter Frank Warren. The fight has been agreed on.
The winner of the Korobov-Lee fight will then possibly face #2 WBO Billy Joe Saunders (20-0, 11 KOs) if Saunders defeats #9 WBO Chris Eubank Jr (17-0, 12 KOs) in their November 29th domestic level match-up at the ExCel Arena, Dockland, in London, United Kingdom.
It’s a tough ask for Saunders to defeat Eubank Jr in order to get to the Korobov-Lee winner, because that’s a really tough test for the 25-year-old Saunders to have to pass for him to face the likes of Korovbov or Lee.
The Tyson Fury vs. Dereck Chisora card just got a whole lot better with the news that middleweight contenders Chris Eubank Jr (17-0, 12 KOs) and Billy Joe Saunders (20-0, 11 KOs) will be facing each other on the undercard on November 29th at the Excel Arena in London, England.
Saunders and Eubank Jr have been taking verbal shots at each other for the past few months and now they get the chance to prove themselves.
Saunders, 25, missed out on fighting for the vacant WBO middleweight crown when the WBO opted to let WBO 154lb champion Demetrius Andrade move up in weight to fight for the vacant WBO middleweight title against #1 WBO Matt Korobov (24-0, 14 KOs) instead of letting Saunders, #2 WBO, get the shot. The logical choice would have been to have Saunders fighting Korobov for the WBO title, because Saunders was the next highest ranked contender for the vacant belt. But Andrade applied for the spot and was given the shot ahead of Saunders.
British fight promoter Frank Warren listed a number of fights that he would like to see take place in 2014, and one which is potential math-up between James DeGale (17-1, 11 KO’s) and the unbeaten middleweight #4 WBO, #11 IBF, #11 WBC, #15 WBA, Billy Joe Saunders (19-0, 10 KO’s). Warren sees this as a good fight that would do well in the UK in terms of making money and pleasing the fans.
The 6’0 1/2″ DeGale, #2 WBO, #3 WBC, #7 IBF, fights at super middleweight and would have a slight size advantage over the 5’11” Saunders. Both guys are southpaws, so it wouldn’t be a case of one of them being thrown off by the southpaw style of the other. That wouldn’t be the excuse for the loser one would hope.
Promoter Frank Warren is delighted to announce that ‘Rock The Box 2’, the next big mulit-title extravaganza at the Copper Box Arena on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, will take place on Saturday 30th November headlined by stars Dereck Chisora and Billy Joe Saunders, live and exclusive on BoxNation (Sky Ch. 437/Virgin Ch. 546).
Headlining is Billy Joe Saunders’ lip smacking second defence of his British and Commonwealth middleweight strap against fellow unbeaten southpaw John Ryder from Islington.
Tensions are sure to be high with both principals committed to attack and bringing large vocal followings, it can’t fail to be a humdinger. But who will depart with ‘bragging rights’?
Hatfield traveller Billy Joe Saunders is chomping at the bit to add his name to Britain’s list of world class middleweight talents.
And the 2008 Beijing Olympian knows that impressive victories over unbeaten rivals Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan at Wembley on Saturday, then Islington’s John Ryder at the Copper Box in September will place him firmly into the mix, alongside Martin Murray, Matt Macklin and Darren Barker.
Billy Joe Saunders will be KO’d early says WBO International Middleweight Champion Gary O’Sullivan in the battle of the undefeated fighters at Wembley Arena on Saturday 20th July.
Dubliner O’Sullivan clashes with rival Saunders on a huge night of boxing alongside stars Dereck Chisora, Carl Frampton and Paul Butler, live and exclusive on BoxNation (Sky Ch. 437/Virgin Ch. 546).
The judges scored it 120-108, 120-109, 119-110. After the fight, Hall said he’s retiring from the sport. He doesn’t want to take punishment needlessly. Someone should have told Hall ahead of time that it’s not a good idea for him to be fighting at middleweight, and definitely not against a fighter like Saunders. The fight was one-sided in every round with Saunders working Hall like he was a punching bag.