Billy Joe Saunders, the 36-year-old former WBO middle and super middleweight beltholder, continues to tease a comeback after claiming he’s been offered a fight in Nigeria with old rival Chris Eubank Jnr.
The outspoken Englishman hasn’t fought since Saul “Canelo” Alvarez broke his right eye socket in multiple places during their 2021 showdown. Saunders, 30-1 (14 KOs), was pulled out after eight rounds inside the AT&T Stadium in Texas, Arlington.
Saunders is part of a glittering British generation from the previous decade, led perhaps by Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury at heavyweight, which also included the likes of, among others, Carl Froch, Kell Brook and Amir Khan.
Joshua and Fury remain active, of course, and Brook recently announced he planned to return. Froch now and again teases some sort of novelty match with John Fury or Jake Paul, Khan can never quite completely dismiss the idea of one last fight and Saunders, yet another to highlight the boxing bug is all but impossible to shift, has repeatedly suggested he too is considering coming back since that emphatic loss to Alvarez five years ago.
Today, however, he admits it’s unlikely he could take on the leaders of the current crop.
“I think you have got to be realistic after being out of the ring for five years and not staying in touch with the game,” Saunders told TalkSport. “If I were to come back, it would be more of a fight for the fans.
“Would I love the opportunity to become a three-weight world champion? Of course I would. But I’ve got to be realistic.
“My goal is not to come in and go, ‘Right, I’m back in the game. I want to be a world champion.’ I’m living in reality.”
Saunders can boast victories over David Lemieux and Andy Lee but it was his 2014 split points decision win over Eubank Jnr, then unbeaten, that remains the most discussed.
Eubank, who looked dreadful while losing to Conor Benn in their rematch last year, has long wanted another crack at Saunders.
“The only person I would really come out for is clearly a Eubank fight,” said Saunders.
“That is about it because I know I can go in without any warm-up and beat him, especially after his last performance.
“I’m not going to go in there and chase the young fighters like [David] Benavidez. It’s past that.”
Eubank, 35-4 (25 KOs), is also 36 years old, showing signs of serious decline but recently admitted he plans to fight until the “wheels fall off”. He has recently spent time in Nigeria, where there are plans to showcase him.
“The Eubanks have been in touch,” Saunders claimed.
“They have seen me in training, and then the phones are up, and they think they are going to give me a truckload of money to go [to Nigeria].
“We all do what we do to get paid, but you aren’t going to give me a truckload of money just because I’m in shape so I can go over to Nigeria.”
Saunders, who put on significant weight during his hiatus, claimed two years ago he was plotting a “definite” comeback. It came to nothing.
