Billy Joe Saunders stands at final crossroad of boxing career on hard path to repeat redemption

It has been a hard road in boxing for Billy Joe Saunders with the Olympics, the titles, the drug issue, the ugly stuff, the brilliance, the frustration and repeat redemptions.

On Saturday, outdoors at the Lamex, Saunders moves up in weight to fight Shefat Isufi for a world title at super-middle and salvage, relaunch or begin the end of a career where his glittering promise inside the ring has always seemed to have a negative counter. It is the last-chance saloon territory for Saunders.

During his pro career, which started after his showing in Beijing, he has defeated quality men, compiling an impressive list with belts that delivered fame and cash; he was too good for Chris Eubank Jr, Andy Lee and David Lemieux, a solid trio of scalps, but inactivity, a bad performance or two and some dubious antics away from the ring combined to ruin the good.

Last year, as Saunders sat in his latest show vehicle, a sordid taped conversation between the boxer and a desperate addict emerged; it cost Saunders one hundred grand in a savage and immediate fine from the British Boxing Board of Control. It was only part of a dismal 2018 and this Saturday is the redemption of Saunders or it could be, with a poor performance and defeat, the end.

Last year Saunders was also forced out of defending his WBO middleweight title in America, where he was getting paid $2.3m against Demetrius Andrade, when he tested positive for oxilofrine, a stimulant which is banned in Massachusetts but not in Britain under the British Board’s strict drug laws.

The failed test was from August, the fight was in October and Saunders was initially given a six-month ban by the WBO - the ban was lifted in January and Saunders was made mandatory for Andrade, who had won and defended the title.

There was a lot of arguing back in September and Saunders, who had fallen foul after using a nasal spray, relinquished his belt, argued for justice and is demanding his day in court. It was a misunderstanding, a mistake, an unfortunate way for Saunders to end his three years as middleweight champion.

Earlier this year Saunders left Dominic Ingle, the man praised for making Saunders believe in boxing again, to work in the gym with Ben Davison, who also works with Tyson Fury. Saunders is looking and sounding like a man transformed under Davison, who was praised last year for his pivotal role in the unlikely resurrection of Fury during a year of boxing astonishments for the big lad.

open image in gallery

This Isufi fight and the belt are camouflage for the real business on Saturday night when Saunders, poised at 29 and ten years into his fighting life, will have to let his fists decide which road he takes until the end of his career. It could be 36-minutes or less in defeat or it could be three good years, six big fights and a lasting reputation.

It is poised prettily for Saunders to look good against Isufi, a Serbian fighting in Germany, and then start the bargaining process once again for a fight with Saul Canelo Alvarez or Gennady Golovkin, as both have been mentioned.

open image in gallery

A Saunders win makes him an unavoidable option for either Alvarez or Golovkin. A simple defeat leaves Saunders in boxing’s crowded forgotten shadows, stranded with few friends left in the business willing to satisfy his demands, but plenty willing to use him as a cut-price scrapper.

The Saunders from the Lee fight in 2015 and the beautiful defence against Lemieux in late 2017 was good enough to make Golovkin and Alvarez wary at the negotiating table – not scared, just cautious with their concessions.

Saunders is unbeaten in 27 fights, a threat, slick, confident, avoided, but that was 18 months ago, decades in boxing years. He is back on Saturday night at last and hopefully, he is here to stay.