Billy Joe Saunders: Age, Height, Career, Family, Eye Injury & Net Worth

Who is Billy Joe Saunders?

Billy Joe Saunders is a world-famous boxer whom we all adore. As of December 2020, Billy Joe Saunders is ranked as the world’s sixth-best active super-middleweight by The Ring magazine. In 2015, Saunders made history by competing in the first world title fight. He there contested between two members of the traveling community with his opponent Andy Lee. Saunders won the fight by judges’ decision to become WBO middleweight champion.

But Billy Joe has many more stories to tell. Read along as we shed ample light on his life story. From the names to his girlfriends to his present career, we have it all.

Birth and Family

Billy took birth on August 30, 1989. He was born in Chestnut. Billy Joe Saunders is also the youngest son of Tom Saunders. There is no more info about this youngster’s family. This is because Saunders likes to keep his life private from the media’s eyes.

Early Career

Saunders fought for Cheshunt Amateur Boxing Club when he was young. He was overseen by Charlie Bliss at Hoddesdon junior Boxing Club. Billy Joe Saunders won his first 49 amateur fights at senior level. This also includes the 2007 Commonwealth Championships. He also won the 2008 Strandzha Cup, defeating Carlos . In 2008 he qualified for the Beijing Olympics. This was in the welterweight division at the age of only 18. He beat European champions Andrey Balanov and Kakhaber Zhvania in Pescara. But he lost in the semi-final before reaching for the all-important third spot. Thus he becomes the first person from the British to qualify for the games.

In Beijing, he beat his opponents in the first round. But he lost to Carlos Banteux in the second round. He was also suspended for lewd behavior. He allegedly pertained to an incident with a local woman. This happened during a pre-season training camp in France. In early December 2008, Saunders started his professional career.

Professional Career

Saunders made his professional debut against Attila Molnar at Birmingham’s National Indoor Arena. From the start, Saunders exuded confidence, landing hard combinations that quickly overwhelmed Molnar. The referee stopped this fight in round two. This was caused after a series of punches landed flush on Molnar’s chin. But it ended up saving a dazed Molnar. Saunders defeated Ronny Gabel in the second round of his second fight. He defeated Alex Spitko in four rounds on October 9, 2009. He defeated Kevin Hammond in the second round with a knockout. Saunders went on to win against a variety of opponents.

Tony Hill gave him his seventh professional knockout victory. He also got his first major regional title. The Commonwealth middleweight championship was held on April 28, 2012.

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After The Commonwealth Games

For his first defense of the title, Saunders went the full twelve-round distance against veteran Bradley Pryce. He outpointed him comfortably. Jarrod Fletcher was soon dispatched in two rounds on September 14.

Saunders fought Nick Blackwell for the British middleweight title. This came out to be one of Saunders’ first tough outings. Hence he was forced to go the full twelve rounds. But he got the victory on the judges’ scorecards. A pair of trouble-free fights came next. He fought against tough sluggers Matthew Hall and Gary O’Sullivan. Both of these also lasted 12 full rounds. 2013 concluded for Saunders with another heavy fight on September 21. This time against fellow British fighter John Ryder in defense in the Commonwealth and British middleweight titles. Both playera came in undefeated and fought for twelve competitive rounds. But the very close scorecards all favored Saunders.

Billy Joe Saunders vs. Blandamura, Eubank Jr.

On February 28, 2009, Saunders made his professional debut against Attila Molnar at Birmingham’s National Indoor Arena. From the start, Saunders exuded confidence, landing hard combinations that quickly overwhelmed Molnar. The referee stopped the fighters in round two after a series of punches landed flush on Molnar’s chin, saving a dazed Molnar. Saunders defeated Ronny Gabel in the second round of his second fight and Matt Scriven in the second round of his third fight.

He defeated Alex Spitko in four rounds on October 9, 2009. On May 21, 2011, he defeated Kevin Hammond in the second round with a knockout. Saunders went on to win against a variety of opponents. The rivalry and build-up were compared to Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank’s first fight in 1990. Saunders went on to win a split decision over Eubank; two judges gave Saunders scores of 115–114 and 115–113, respectively, while the third judge gave Eubank a score of 116–113. After successfully defending his British middleweight title for the third time, Saunders was awarded the Lonsdale Belt, which he presented to his father Tommy as a Christmas present.

Billy Joe Saunders vs. Lee

With the victory over Eubank, Saunders was set to face Andy Lee, the WBO world middleweight champion. In February 2015, promoter Lou DiBella offered Saunders and Warren a step aside financial offer for Lee to fight Peter Quillin instead. Warren expressed his hope that Lee would win that fight so that Saunders vs. Lee could take place in the summer. Saunders also gotm an offer from the IBF to fight for their world middleweight title around the same time, but he reiterated his desire to fight for the WBO title.

Saunders vs. Lee for the WBO world middleweight title was officially announced in June. The fight was actually set to take place on September 19 in Lee’s hometown of Limerick, but it was postponed and moved to Manchester on October 10 due to Lee’s viral infection. Another postponement occurred on September 1 as a result of Saunders receiving a cut during sparring. The fight was rescheduled to December 19.

On July 24, Saunders fought Yoann Bloyer in a tune-up fight, weighing in at 173 pounds, near the light-heavyweight limit. In December 19, Saunders won his first world title by a majority decision over WBO middleweight champion Andy Lee, with judges’ scores of 114–112, 115–111, and 113–113. Saunders scored two knockdowns against Lee in the third round to take an early lead on the scoreboards. Using head movement and an accurate jab, he continued to outbox Lee until the later rounds. Lee began to land more heavy punches at this point, but it was too late to overcome the points deficit, despite a strong finish in the first round.

Billy Joe Saunders vs. Akavov

Frank Warren finally revealed that Saunders’ first title defense would be against WBO European middleweight champion Artur Akavov (16–1 7 KOs), who at number 10 WBO rank. On October 22, the fight was scheduled to take place at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, and it would broadcast live on BoxNation. Saunders suffered a muscle injury during a sparring session, and his stablemate Liam Williams also suffered an injury. The fight rescheduled itself to November 26. Due to transitional issues with Akavov entering the UK, the fight rescheduled for December 3 at the Lagoon Leisure Centre in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Scotland.

The fight

Saunders got off to a slow start, displaying signs of ring rust. Akavov was the aggressor until round 5, and he did enough to win the rounds. Saunders bounced back in rounds 5, 6, 7, and 8, hitting combos and landing power shots in the process. Saunders was exhausted for the final two rounds as a result of this. The fight lasted a total of 12 rounds. Saunders retained his WBO title with a unanimous decision on all scorecards.

Saunders won with scores 116–113, 116–112, and 115–113 from the three judges. Following the announcement, Saunders took the microphone away from the MC and thanked the live audience for attending while harshly criticizing his performance “There was no such thing. I’ve been out for a year and am a little overweight. A few changes to the camp. I apologise to the fans, particularly those who paid for it. Awful performance.”

On December 20, Saunders parted ways with long-time trainer Jimmy Tibbs, with whom he had worked since turning pro in 2008. When Tibbs was absent from Saunders’ last title defense against Akavov, rumors began to circulate. Danny Vaughan, Johnny Roye, and Ben Davison, on the other hand, are in his corner. Frank Warren, the promoter, has officially confirmed the news. [42] Saunders announced his collaboration with Adam Booth on January 18, 2017.

Billy Joe Saunders & Avtandil Match

In early February 2017, challenger Avtandil Khurtsidze challenged him. Avtandil took a ‘step-a-side’ fee to allow Saunders to pursue a bigger fight. On February 28, they announced that Khurtsidze would fight undefeated British boxer Tommy Langford. This was also for the WBO title in April.

After retaining his belts against Jacob, Gennady Golovkin told that he wanted to unify the division and hold all the belts available. Golovkin said, “My goal is all the belts in the middleweight division. Of course, Billy Joe is the last one. It is my dream.” Rumors of the fight taking place in Golovkin’s home country Kazakhstan in June during the EXPO 2017. The last time Golovkin fought in his home country was in 2010.[46] On March 20, Golovkin said that he would fight Saunders in his native Kazakhstan or the O2 Arena in London.

Billy Joe Saunders & Various Controversies

In September 2018, he impersonated a police officer. The the-29-year-old world champion was on camera forcing a man to strip naked in his car. In the video, Saunders was telling the driver to take off his shirt. He also forced him to remove his trousers and the rest of his clothing. This all caused as they suspected him of having a weapon.

In September 2018, a video of Saunders released in his Rolls-Royce taunting a drug addict. He was offering £150 in crack cocaine in exchange for a sex act. He also punched a passer-by. Saunders drove away from the scene after the woman punched a man walking by. A second video surfaced later. In that video, he refers to another woman as a prostitute. And he says, “We don’t want to get the clap off you.” “I have seen the videos and I can tell you we find it disgusting,” said Robert Smith. He was the general secretary of the British Boxing Board of Control. He spoke with members of the board of directors about this.  Police looked into the incidents. BBBofC also found Saunders guilty.

Billy Joe Saunders & Various Accusations

Saunders was calling Delta Airlines in March 2020. He claimed that three other boxers on a flight from Las Vegas to New York had COVID-19. The trio was kicked off the flight as a result of the call. On social media, an audio clip of the call surfaced. In that video, Saunders was laughing about the incident. Saunders later posted an online video in March instructing men on how to hit their female partners. It was in isolation due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Saunders uses a punching bag in the video to demonstrate how to react if “your old woman is giving you mouth.” He also had added how to “hit her on the chin.” He later releases a follow-up apology video. In which he apologized for any offense caused. He also stated that he would donate £25,000 to a domestic violence charity. The BBBofC suspended Saunders’ boxing license pending an investigation as a result of the video. The BBBofC caught him guilty of misconduct and fined him in July 2020. After that, his suspension lifted itself.

Billy Joe Saunders Net Worth

Billy has a net worth of a whopping 2 million dollars. His yearly income from boxing is also pretty high.

Commonly Googled Terms on Billy Joe Saunders

Billy Joe Saunders vs Canelo

Canelo Alvarez recently fought with Billy. He also defeated Billy Joe Saunders in an 8 round match.

Billy Joe Saunders Eye Injury

In the match with Canelo, Billy faced brutal Injuries. Canelo broke Billy’s eye socket in the match.

Billy Joe Saunders Instagram

You can find Billy Joe also on Instagram at @Billy Joe Saunders.