WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders (not to be confused with Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, or Billy Joel of 'We Didn't Start the Fire' fame) is gearing up to defend his title this weekend at London's Copper Box Arena against Willie Monroe Jr. If the weigh-in is anything to go by, it should be a thriller.
However, Saunders was handed an arguably unfair advantage this week during the weigh-in, namely by his loving son, who heroically ran over and punched Monroe Jr. in the nads, after the two boxers had squared up in traditional pre-bout style. Take a look here:
Both fighters came in at 11st 6lbs during the weighing session, but Monroe's sperm count (which weight-wise is negligible, no matter how much posturing a man does) may have fallen substantially following the right hook to his trunk baubles.
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Saunders has never lost a professional bout, beating Hungary's Attila Molnar in his first fight back in 2009. He last won against Artur Akakov in December 2016 in a fight that ended in a points victory.
Back to balls, and Monroe Jr. fortunately saw the funny side of Saunders Jr's scampy shenanigans, laughing it off as he made his exit. The fighter's team, however, were less impressed, telling promoter Frank Warren that the lad's behaviour was 'bullshit'.
Credit: BT Sport
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Saunders continued to flex his muscles, rather than curtail his son's behaviour, which was followed by some good old swearing before member of Monroe Jr's team summed the whole thing up nicely. "Good class, buddy," he said, as a smiling Monroe Jr. was led off the podium.
Following criticism of the incident, Saunders later claimed his son had been taught to punch any stranger who touched him (Monroe Jr. had playfully ruffled the boy's hair when he stepped in front of him) before running away.
Credit: BT Sport
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Saunders' failure to apologise led to much criticism on social media:
Back in the ring, where the fighting ought to be contained, the clash will take place this Saturday around 11.50pm on BT Sport. Saunders is heavy favourite to win the fight, with many already talking about his next bout against Gennady Golovkin, who defeated Monroe Jr. in a sixth round TKO last year.
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Words: Ronan O'Shea
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Boxing
