Saunders Returns In April For Vacant 168lbs Title
With Anthony Joshua and Amir Khan bypassing Wembley Stadium on April 13th for opportunities at Madison Square Garden, Billy Joe Saunders has taken the opportunity to headline that night across the street at Wembley Arena.
On Monday, Saunders’ promoter Frank Warren announced that the former middleweight champion will move up a weight-class ti face German fighter Shefat Isufi for the vacant WBO super middleweight title at the SSE Arena in London.
“(Saunders) is moving up in weight and he’s moving up to challenge the mandatory challenger, Shefat Isufi for the vacant title,” Warren revealed.
The title was vacated by Gilberto Ramirez, who has decided to move up to light heavyweight, making him the number one contender for Sergey Kovalev’s WBO title after dropping his title.
“It’s a brilliant opening for me,” insists Saunders, who only fought once in 2018, stopping Charles Adamu last December in the fourth round. “You’ve got these rumors that Andrade is going for shoulder surgery, as well as the financial side of it with the split – it doesn’t add up.”
Andrade was set to fight Saunders for the WBO middleweight title in October, but the fight would be cancelled for failing a pre-fight drug test due to what Saunders and Warren claim was a nasal decongestant spray.
“Me winning this super-middleweight title will put me in a great position for unifications with the likes of (WBA titlist) Callum Smith, while we’ve got Chris Eubank boxing James DeGale at the weekend.”
“He is one of those who, with what he does, he does very well when the bell goes,” Saunders said of his April 13th opponent. “He has boxed at light heavyweight and cruiserweight so he is going to be a big, big lump and I need to make sure I am on it and stay away from those big bombs.”
Quotes Via: Boxing Scene