The announcement of Martin Murray getting the call to face Billy Joe Saunders for the WBO World middleweight title raised some eyebrows but both Saunders and trainer Dominic Ingle insist that Murray is no easy task.
Last December Saunders humiliated David Lemieux in front of the Canadian’s home crowd while retaining his world title. In his post-fight speech, a visibly frustrated Lemieux accused Saunders of running and not fighting. The Brit’s gameplan worked to a perfection but according to the WBO champion, he will treat Murray with a lot more respect.
Billy Joe Saunders being Billy Joe Saunders ππ
The champ returns to the ring in April, live on BT Sport πpic.twitter.com/24uScxBWch
— Boxing on BT Sport π₯ (@BTSportBoxing) January 19, 2018
“Martin Murray is a good respectable man. He’s a class act, he’s a family man, he’s a good family man. I’ve got a lot of respect for him. All I want to do his go and retain my title. We’ll see who is the better man on the night and we’ll shake hands after,” commented Saunders to Boxing Social.
According to Saunders, this will not be a tune-up fight.
“This fight means that you can’t switch off, you have got to be on the ball. You can’t look at him and take him lightly because he’s coming and he’s coming with everything,” predicted Saunders.
It’s not just the respect. Trainer Ingle believes Murray brings more to the table than Lemieux and they will not underestimate the challenger.
Murray has won three fights in a row since his loss to George Groves in 2016. Murray last fought in September against Arman Torosyan and won via fourth round TKO.
“Martin Murray for me is a better all-around boxer than David Lemieux. I think David Lemieux believed his own hype with one gameplan and that was to knock out Billy Joe Saunders. Martin Murray is not daft. He’s seen Billy at his best and he’s seen Billy at his worst, he knows what Billy’s capable of.
“Martin is a true fighter and he’s only ever lost at the top level. I think he’s gonna be there for the full twelve rounds with Billy and I think he’s gonna give as much as he can give.
“Billy can’t just underestimate this guy because to take your foot off the gas or underestimate him, Billy going in there thinking it’s going to be an easy fight, it’s going to be a very difficult evenings work if he does that,” said Ingle to Boxing Social.
However, the real target for Saunders is Gennady Golovkin.
The middleweight kingpin will rematch Canelo Alvarez most likely in May and should Golovkin get the win, Saunders is the only real opponent left in the division.
“It’s the boxing politics again. It would be great. Obviously, they [Golovkin-Canelo] are fighting each other again and Golovkin usually fights around December time, it would be ideal for us if it does happen and what other fight can Golovkin have? Bearing in mind he comes through against Canelo, if he loses will he pack up?” questioned Ingle.
The trainer believes the timing would be just right for Saunders to face Golovkin, who is arguably nearing the final chapter of his career.
“Billy’s on a roll at the minute. He’s on a high. The momentum is with him. Golovkin is getting a little bit older. He’s getting more miles on the clock. It will be another hard fight with Canelo but he’s a warrior. Sometimes these guys don’t know when to stop. Sometimes it’s too late and they get beat.
“Hopefully it will be this year because I think that’s what Billy has set out in his mind. He’s working towards that goal,” Ingle concluded.
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