It was another at the office for Billy Joe Saunders at The Copper Box Arena in London.
Willie Monroe Jr had high hopes of leaving the UK with a world title, but the American got outworked, outjabbed and outboxed.
Here’s how the bout went down.
The fight started with both fighters stalking each other but eventually it was Saunders who landed the first big left after a stiff body jab. Monroe Jr couldn’t catch Saunders and the defending champion hit the American with a strong left again.
The feeling out process continued in the second round. Monroe Jr started landing more shots with his jab. The confident Saunders fired back with shots of his own. A close round by any standards.
Monroe Jr found more luck with his good jab and a few body shots. But Saunders countered with a multiple shots to the head and body and finished the round strong.
Saunders started bleeding during the fourth round due to a clash of heads. Both fighters landed shots and Saunders was the stronger fighter in the clinch but it was Monroe Jr who won the round.
The American landed a stiff left in the fifth but Saunders found his composure and beat Monroe Jr to the punch with his jab. Saunders also caused trouble with a flurry punches against the ropes.
Monroe Jr continued scoring points with his quick jab but Saunders was still in control in the sixth. ‘Mongoose’ landed more good shots in the seventh and managed to avoid some of Saunders’ power shots. However, Billy Joe was still doing the better work.
Saunders connected with heavy hooks and solid straights in round eight. In the final minute, Saunders landed more clean power shots and won the round dominantly.
Monroe Jr started to slow down in the ninth meanwhile Saunders was keeping his pace. The challenger wasn’t throwing much while Saunders kept outjabbing him.
The American challenger was even more hesitant in the tenth round. Waiting too long and Saunders capitalised. Monroe Jr allowed himself to be outworked and the WBO champion took another round with ease.
Monroe showed a bit more urgency in the eleventh but again failed to pull the trigger at the right time. Despite landing a couple of nice punches, Saunders was firmly in the lead.
In the final round, Monroe Jr finally started fighting back with confidence and did the better work, but it was much too late.
Saunders was announced as the winner via unanimous decision. He now holds a record of 25 wins and no losses.