By Jake Tiernan: Billy Joe Saunders says he’s going to be making a comeback to get some big fights before retiring. The plan is for Billy Joe to fight on the undercard of the Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn celebrity clash to get publicity.
It’s believed that Saunder’s goal is to fight the Eubank Jr-Benn winner, make a boatload of money, and, depending on how well he does, go after one of the top names at 168.
Just getting the winner of that fight would obviously be incredible, as everything would be just gravy for Billy Joe because he would be literally swimming in the dough, and nothing else would matter.
Just fighting the winner of Eubank Jr. vs. Benn will provide Saunders with a massive payday and give him a nice golden parachute retirement check to go along with the millions he got for his fight with Canelo Alvarez.
Saunder’s purse for the Canelo fight was a reported $8 million plus PPV upside. Assuming Billy Joe hasn’t burned through his entire fortune in the last two and a half years of sitting inactive, he should still have more than enough money to live the rest of his life comfortably about needing to work.
Of course, if Saunders can add to his net worth by fighting the winner of the Eubank Jr-Benn fight and then perhaps David Benavidez on PPV, that should fatten his bank account to make his retirement years comfortable, living in luxury.
The 34-year-old former two-division world champion Saunders (30-1, 14 KOs), who has really packed on the pounds since his eighth round knockout loss to Canelo Alvarez in May 2021, will initially fight at light heavyweight for his return clash.
From there, Billy Joe drops down to 168 in the New Year for another tune-up before looking for some big fights.
“I’m going to fight in December. I’ll probably fight at 12.6, 12.5 [174 or 175 lbs],” said Billy Joe Saunders to the talkSport Boxing channel about his comeback after three years out of the ring since his loss to Canelo Alvarez in 2021.
Whether Saunders can get back down to 168 without draining himself to the point of collapse is the important question, as he’s looked well over 200 lbs during his time out of the ring since 2021.
To take off that kind of weight to get back down to super middleweight without being drained is going to be tough for Billy Joe.
Sure, he can obviously get down to the weight, but if drains himself to where he’s a walking zombie, he’s going to get batted around the ring in his soft run-out fight against a journeyman-esque-level opponent in early 2024.
If Billy Joe loses to a mediocre British domestic-level fighter, he can forget about fighting the winner of the Eubank Jr. vs. Benn fight. He’ll become one of the untouchable class of fighters, and he’ll be ignored. Those two can find other guys to make much cash against rather than an aging Saunders, who some feel should stay retired.
“I’m not saying I’m going to fight a superstar. On New Year, you’ll see me fight 12 stone [168 lbs]. I don’t want to go in there and stink the place out because I’m drained,” said Saunders.
Of course, Saunders isn’t going to fight a “superstar” in his first fight back because he’s not relevant in the sport, aside from the older fans from the UK, who might be mildly interested in watching him fight. For them, the interest is similar to when one drives past a car crash, and you can’t help but rubberneck.
“I want to slowly bring it down and obviously have a little run out [read: soft opponent], get the ball rolling, pick the opponent out, and look for the biggest fights, he can bring me and see where I’m at. I only want three or four fights,” said Billy Joe.
Saunders’s best career wins:
- Chris Eubank Jr.
- David Lemieux
- Marcelo Esteban Coceres
- Martin Murray – *38-years-old
- Shefat Isufi
- Andy Lee
- Charles Adamu
- Artur Akavov
- John Ryder
- Gary O’Sullivan
- Willie Monroe Jr
- Nick Blackwell
