Saunders investigation by BBBofC to be monitored by WBO president Paco Valcarcel

By Boxing News - 03/30/2020 - Comments

By Kenneth Friedman: WBO president Paco Valcarcel says Billy Joe Saunders actions were “unacceptable” with his posting of a video on social media talking about how men can beat women. Valcarcel and the WBO will wait until the BBBofC completes their investigation of Saunders before they chose to take action.

WBO super middleweight champion Saunders (29-0, 14 KOs) has since apologized via his Twitter site for the video he posted, but the damage has already been done. Saunders deleted the video but not before it was seen by a lot of fans, and copied posted elsewhere around the Internet.

BBBofC to hold hearing on Saunders case

Many fans were disgusted by Saunders video and the message that he was giving to men. Saunders failed to realize the repercussions of his poorly thought out attempt at humor.

Saunders receiving  a short-term ban might be meaningless

The British Boxing Board of Control has already suspended him pending a hearing. It’s unknown what action if any the BBBofC will take with Saunders. At this point with boxing shut down due to the coronavirus, a short suspension might not have an impact on Saunders’ career.

Unfortunately, there’s no telling when live boxing will be allowed to resume. Any short-term suspension of Billy Joe could take place during the downtime. If Saunders received a short-term ban, it won’t do much. It’s not as if he can fight now anyway.

Image: Saunders investigation by BBBofC to be monitored by WBO president Paco Valcarcel

Saunders is supposed to be fighting Canelo Alvarez next at a still to be determined date in June or July. Billy Joe’s promoter Eddie Hearn said on Monday that he hopes that he’ll still get the fight with Canelo. The promoters for that fight are waiting for the coronavirus to go away before they can announce a date.

If Canelo doesn’t fight Saunders, then the Golden Boy star could go straight into a trilogy against Gennadiy Golovkin. That’s a fight that is possible for September, but it’s also one that hinges on boxing being restarted after the coronavirus numbers start going down.

Saunders issues apology

Would the WBO go so far as to strip Saunders of his title with their organization? A move like that would definitely hurt his career, considering that it would take away his main bargaining chip to get a big fight.

A ban of a year would have a huge impact on Saunders’ career, as it would keep him from fighting Canelo or Callum Smith. Those are the two big fight options Billy Joe has right now. Of course, if boxing is derailed by the virus for the next 12 months, then a one-year ban won’t hurt Saunders.

Billy Joe recently successfully defended his WBO super middleweight title in beating Marcelo Esteban Coceres in a come from behind 11th round knockout on November 9.