Billy Joe Saunders’ apologized for an explosive video of him explaining how to hit a woman in the event of a domestic confrontation.
Billy Joe Saunders has been as busy apologizing as he has been training for a projected fight with Canelo Alvarez.
Saunders’ latest apology, the second in a couple of weeks, is for an explosive video of him explaining how to hit a woman in the event of a domestic confrontation while in lock down because of coronavirus, also called COVID-19.
“I just want to make a little video for all you dads, husbands, if you’ve got girlfriends etc. Obviously this Covid-19 thing is getting quite serious and we are isolated in tight spaces,” Saunders says in a video that appeared on Whatsapp.
“If your old woman is giving you mouth and you try to be patient, you try to be calm, but after the seventh day or sixth you’re about to explode. All of a sudden, she’s coming at you, spitting a bit of venom in your face. … I don’t know what you’ve done but you’ve upset her.
“As she’s coming in at you and you’ve lost it, just keep it safe with the hands. So, as she comes in, she’s just about to say something and you explode and hit her on the chin. At this time, she may flash and see white … she’s in a state of horror. All of a sudden you dip with that knee and finish her off, that should do the trick.”
Saunders issued an apology on his Twitter account Saturday in response to an immediate backlash across social media.
“I would never condone domestic violence and if I saw a man touch a woman I would smash him to pieces myself,’’ Saunders said. “… Apologies if I offended any women, stay blessed.’’
A week ago, Saunders called an airline that had booked his trainer Ben Davison, stablemate and junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor and an unidentified friend for a flight from Las Vegas to the U.K. According to reports, Saunders told the airline that his friend was not feeling well. Davison, Taylor and the friend were pulled off the flight.
Saunders apologized for that, too
Saunders, a super middleweight champion, has a reported agreement to fight Alvarez. However, the fight has never been formally announced. It was supposed to happen on May 2 in Las Vegas, but it was never officially scheduled because of the pandemic.
A frustrated Josh Taylor, whose career was soaring, must now wait with his boxing brethren for the opportunity to get back into the ring.
The titles are new. The contract is new. The trainer is new. It’s a brand new life for Josh Taylor, but it’ll have to wait a while. Coronavirus has put the world on hold, including the one that Taylor hopes to unify.
Taylor’s first title defense has fallen into a familiar category. His junior welterweight bout against challenger Apinun Khonsong, scheduled for May 2 in Glasgow, Scotland, has been postponed. But don’t make any plans. There’s no new date and there’s no idea when there might be one. Taylor must feel like he has a winning ticket, yet the lottery offices are closed and nobody knows when they’ll re-open.
“That’s the way it goes,’’ Taylor told his hometown newspaper, the Evening News in Edinburgh. “It’s completely out of my control, so it’s something you’ve just got to accept. Everything happens for a reason. So it might work out for the better when I fight him at a later date.’’
Taylor has been training in Las Vegas for his first fight since he added a second 140-pound belt with a decision over Regis Prograis on Oct. 26 in London. He signed with Top Rank after the dramatic victory. He left promoter Barry McGuigan and trainer Shane McGuigan in a controversial move. Then he hired Ben Davison, Tyson Fury’s former trainer.
It looked as if all the moves had been made. The table was set for an eventual bout against Jose Ramirez for all the pieces to the world’s 140-pound title. But the eventual end of coronavirus is nowhere in sight.
“We’ve never experienced this kind of situation before, so we’ve just got to sit tight and follow the guidelines,’’ Taylor said. “I’d been sitting watching all the boxing shows scheduled for the next month or two being postponed. So it wasn’t too much of a surprise when the call finally came through to tell me it was off.’’
Taylor, who got the news Tuesday, is hoping for a new date in July. Then again, so are a lot of other fighters.
“I’ve spent a lot of money on this training camp coming out to Vegas,’’ Taylor said. “… So it’s really frustrating. I’ve been in camp for quite a few weeks now, and although there is no alternative date yet, I would hope the fight could maybe be rescheduled for July or something like that.
“I’ll keep training in the gym and hopefully it’s not too long before I’m back in the ring.”
Ben Davison trains Billy Joe Saunders and Josh Taylor, who both could end up fighting on May 2. Davison would have to make a choice.
Ben Davison wants to know who Canelo Alvarez will fight on May 2 as much as anyone.
He might have to make a tough choice.
Davison trains Billy Joe Saunders, long rumored to be Alvarez’s likely opponent for a super middleweight bout in Las Vegas. ESPN Deportes reported Thursday that an announcement is imminent, perhaps within 24 hours.
Davison just wants to know. He’s also the new trainer for junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor, who is already scheduled to make a title defense against Thai Apinin Khongsong in Glasgow, Scotland, also on May 2.
“As it stands, it’s not an issue,’’ Davison told iFL TV. “There’s not a clash of dates.’’
As of Thursday afternoon, at least, there wasn’t.
“We have spoken about it,’’ said Davison, Tyson Fury’s former trainer. “If I get a phone call to say it is done, we do have a clash of dates. But we have things in place.’’
Davison would not say which corner he would work if Saunders gets the big-money date against Alvarez. Callum Smith, another U.K. super middleweight, is the other possibility. Money has been a factor in the lengthy negotiations.
Saunders and Smith reportedly have asked for $12 million, light heavyweight Sergey Kovalev’s purse for his knockout loss to Alvarez on Nov. 2 in Las Vegas. Alvarez’s representatives have been offering $7.5 million, according to multiple reports.
Davison also said he had no idea whether Saunders would be Alvarez’s choice.
“The public thinks we know six weeks before,’’ Davison said. “We don’t. We’re like everybody else. We’ll probably know the night before it is announced.”
Taylor, who holds two 140-pound belts, is coming off a contentious split with trainer Shane McGuigan after his jump from Barry McGuigan’s Cyclone Promotions to Top Rank.
But there was no anger from Davison at Fury’s decision to hire SugarHill Steward, who added the aggressive tactics long taught by his late mentor and uncle, Emanuel Steward, to Fury’s skillset.
“Tyson had said to me he wanted to adopt a more aggressive approach,’’ said Davison, who was in Fury’s corner for their draw with Wilder in their fist fight in December 2018. “It proved to be the right decision for him and obviously I wanted him to be victorious more than anything.
“So, as well as a coach and fighter relationship, we had a friendship that was more than anything else. I wanted him to win. And if that meant I was going to be there and – put bluntly – if it meant that I wasn’t going to gain from it financially, that doesn’t matter.’’
A more aggressive Fury in the early rounds against Wilder in the heavyweight rematch Feb. 22 proved to be brilliant. It confused Wilder. Fury was on top of him immediately, which eliminated the space Wilder needs for the leverage to set up his feared right hand.
“Tyson had actually said to me quite a while ago that he wanted to start fast and start hard against Deontay Wilder,’’ Davison said. “But he actually said it to me and I said to him, ‘There are a couple of ways you can go about it. You can Hagler-Hearns on him or you can Sugar Ray Leonard-Hearns him.’’
Here is list of things to watch in the Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury rematch Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on pay-per-view.
A lot happens before, during and after a big fight.
Here is list of things to keep an eye on in the Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury heavyweight title rematch Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on pay-per-view.
Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs) and Fury (29-0-1, 20 KOs) fought to a controversial draw in their first fight, on Dec. 1, 2018 in Los Angeles.
***
FURY’S WEIGHT
Fury has said he expects to weigh in today at 270 pounds, 13½ more than his weight for the first fight. He said that weight is more natural for him, although one wonders whether it would slow him down. The added heft presumably would make it a little more difficult for the relatively lean Wilder to push Fury around, although Wilder, who weighed 212½ for the first fight, also expects to come in heavier for the rematch.
FURY’S STRATEGY
The lineal champion has made it clear that he plans to fight more aggressively in the rematch than he did in the original. As part of that change, he split with defense-oriented trainer Ben Davison and hired SugarHill Steward, a nephew and disciple of Emanuel Steward who promotes a power-punching philosophy. Fury, a big man, obviously has some power but he has always been a boxer first and foremost.
Can new trainer SugarHill Steward right) really turn Tyson Fury into a power puncher? And how will things go in the corner with a new trainer? Mikey Williams / Top Rank
THE CUT
Fury suffered a huge gash (as well as a smaller one) above his right eye in his victory over Otto Wallin in September. Many suggested that it was so bad that the fight would’ve been stopped if the rematch with Wilder hadn’t been on the horizon. The cut has healed. It might be no factor whatsoever in the fight Saturday. Then again, it might be susceptible to being reopened as a result of just the right punch or clash of heads. Let’s hope blood plays no role in the outcome.
THE SECOND ROUND
That’s when Fury boldly predicted he would stop Wilder. Most dismiss it as bluster, perhaps a way to build interest in the fight and part of the mind games fighters play before they face one another in the ring. But who knows? Fury seems to be adamant in his belief that he can hurt Wilder. He wasn’t able to do so in the first fight, at least not obviously, but maybe he saw or felt enough to conclude that Wilder is vulnerable.
WILDER’S PATIENCE
Wilder has said repeatedly that one reason it took him so long to put Fury down is that he was overly eager to score a spectacular knockout in his biggest fight to that point. He was able to connect, he said, only when he settled down. And he said he has learned his lesson. He plans to take his time in the rematch, set up the knockout punch and deliver it when an opening presents itself. That’s what he did in the Ortiz fight.
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WILDER’S RIGHT HAND
Of course, you don’t need to be reminded to keep an eye on Wilder’s principal weapon. He instantly and dramatically turned out the lights on Dominic Breazeale and Luis Ortiz since he met Fury the first time with arguably the most powerful punch in the history of the sport. He definitely can do the same in the rematch with Fury. The question is whether he’ll be able to make a direct hit on his target.
WILDER’S ACTIVITY
The champ has had the tendency to focus more on landing the big punch than throwing enough shots to win rounds. That’s what happened in the first fight with Fury, in which Wilder was well behind on two of the three cards after six rounds. He was behind on all three in the second Ortiz fight before ending matters in Round 7. If falls behind and then fails to score a knockout, he again risks losing a decision.
Can Tyson Fury stay on his feet in the rematch with Deontay Wilder? And if he goes down, will be be able to get up this time? Harry How / Getty Images
WILL FURY GET UP THIS TIME?
The most memorable aspect of the first fight was Fury’s ability to get up from a right-left knockdown in the final round. One moment he seemed semi-conscious, the next he was on his feet and exchanging punches. Could he do that again? Here’s something to think about: The pivotal right hand landed in a dangerous place, above Fury’s ear, but it wasn’t the kind of missile that stopped Breazeale and Ortiz. We’ll see what happens if that sort punch finds its target.
THE SCORECARDS
Fury and his supporters insist that he was robbed in the first fight. They believe he won virtually every round except the two in which he went down. Wilder supporters counter that he had to win only three of the other 10 rounds to earn a draw, which seems reasonable. In the end, Fury has decided that he cannot win a decision in the U.S. regardless of his performance. Can he? All three judges are American.
THIRD FIGHT?
The loser can call for a third fight, as per the contract. Of course, that would depend on what happens on Saturday. A one-sided decision or brutal knockout – or boring fight – might prompt the loser to look elsewhere for the time being while a compelling fight would generate interest in one more lucrative meeting. Wilder-Fury could end up becoming a classic heavyweight rivalry.
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A victory by Deontay Wilder on Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas would be better for the division and the sport.
OPINION
Tyson Fury is the best boxer in the heavyweight division, hands down. That doesn’t make him fun to watch.
I was seated at ringside for the Fury-Deontay Wilder draw at Staples Center in 2018. About 8½ rounds into an uneventful fight in which Fury boxed and Wilder chased, I remember thinking: “Someone wake me up when this garbage is over.” The fight was that boring. Only Wilder’s two knockdowns made it interesting in the end.
Think back to Fury’s stunning victory over Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, which turned the division upside down. A common reaction: yawwwwwn.
That’s why a victory by Wilder on Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas would be better for the division and the sport. Fans will take one-punch knockouts over efficient boxing lessons any day. And, obviously, Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs) delivers the sudden, violent endings that stir the masses.
Can new trainer SugarHill Steward (right) really turn Tyson Fury into a power puncher? Mikey Williams / Top Rank
On top of that, a Wilder victory sets up a potentially even bigger event: Wilder vs. Anthony Joshua, the fight between two enormous punchers that fans have anticipated for years.
Of course, Wilder and Fury might do it a third time. The loser can demand it based on a clause in their contract. It would be well received. And a Fury victory would set up a potential all-England superfight between him and Joshua.
The point here is that Wilder vs. Joshua is bigger than Fury vs. Joshua, which would be huge in the U.K. but not quite the global event that Wilder-Joshua would be and certainly not as compelling in terms of what fans could anticipate in the ring.
Some might point out that Floyd Mayweather didn’t have a style conducive to action yet he became the face of the sport. Well, one, Mayweather was the best boxer of his generation. That can’t be said of Fury. And, two, Mayweather was the ultimate polarizing figure. It didn’t matter whether you loved him or hated him, you tuned in when he fought.
And Muhammad Ali wasn’t known as a big puncher yet became the most iconic figure in boxing history. C’mon, as compelling as Fury is, he’d be the first to admit he’s no Muhammad Ali.
Make no mistake: Fury is compelling. Bob Arum, who knows a thing or two about promotions, did compare Fury to Ali in terms of his ability to sell himself and a fight. No doubt. Fury’s personality is magnetic.
That’s not where the proposition ends, though. Once the opening bell rings, Fury’s gift of gab gives way to a hit-and-not-be-hit style that gets the job done but doesn’t lift fans out of their seats the way a big right hand from Wilder does.
Maybe that’s part of the reason Fury has promoted the idea of stopping Wilder. He fired trainer Ben Davison and hired a mentor known to encourage power punching, SugarHill Steward. He says he’s bulked up for the rematch. And he’s predicting a second-round knockout.
Imagine if that happens, imagine Wilder flat on his back. If it happens, Fury vs. Joshua would become a much bigger event. That’s a big “if,” though.
Wilder has stopped all but one of the opponents he has faced in his career. He is coming off two of the most breathtaking stoppages in recent years, one-punch knockouts Dominic Breazeale and Luis Ortiz. He’s done it again and again … and again.
Until Fury can demonstrate he has the ability to provide thrills beyond winning decisions and getting up from knockdowns, Wilder is the man.
Tyson Fury dismissed talk that there were difficulties in his Las Vegas camp for his rematch with Deontay Wilder on Saturday.
Tyson Fury says he has had no problems in preparing for the heavyweight rematch with Deontay Wilder Saturday on Fox/ESPN pay-per-view. His only problem is with anybody who says there was trouble in his training camp
Fury dismissed talk from promoter Eddie Hearn that there were difficulties in his Las Vegas camp for the fight at the MGM Grand.
Hearn, of Matchroom Boxing, told U.K. media that he had changed his pick, from Fury to Wilder, because he had heard there were issues.
Nonsense, Fury says.
“I’m more dedicated for this fight than I’ve ever been,’’ Fury told Fight Hub TV.
There have been questions about whether Fury has had enough time to develop a working relationship with trainer SugarHill Steward, who he hired to succeed Ben Davison in mid-December.
Davison was in Fury’s corner for the controversial draw with Wilder about 15 months ago at Los Angeles’ Staples Center. Davison was fired three months after Fury sustained a deep cut above his right eye in a surprisingly difficult decision over Otto Wallin on Sept. 14 in Las Vegas.
“It was a great move,’’ Fury said of the decision to go with Steward, who named himself after his legendary uncle, Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward. “It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and at the best timing as well.’
Fury already knew SugarHill Steward from his days at Steward’s Kronk Gym in Detroit in 2010. Fury said he and his new trainer were able to pick up where they left off.
‘I can’t prepare any better than I have for this fight,’’ Fury said. “There’s no more I can do. I’m getting to bed early, I’m waking up early. I’m eating all the right food, drinking tons of water. I’m having vitamins, I’m having minerals – everything that a fighter needs in order to be successful.
“I’ve got the right sparring partners. I’ve got tall guys, I’ve got powerful guys, I’ve got awkward guys. I’ve got one in, one out, I’ve got eight in a row. I’ve got the trainer in there. I’ve got my brothers. I’ve got my friends. I’ve got everything you could ever need. I’m happy in my own mind.’’
Deontay Wilder believes Tyson Fury is nervous because of the late knockdowns he suffered in their first fight.
Deontay Wilder hears the promises. He sees the changes. Tyson Fury is tireless, a whirlwind of talk and taunts, predictions and punch lines.
Fury has a new trainer. He says he has a plan to fight in a way that he never has. He says he will acquire power that he has never displayed. He soaks his hands in fuel. He is unconventional and often unbelievable.
But Wilder says he isn’t fooled.
Wilder sees a nervous man.
Nervous, Wilder says, about a rematch on Feb. 22 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand that will force Fury to again encounter power that dropped him twice 15 months ago.
“Deep down in his heart, I feel he’s nervous,’’ Wilder said Tuesday during a conference call for the Fox/ESPN pay-per-view rematch of their heavyweight draw Dec. 1, 2018 in Los Angeles. “I feel he’s very, very nervous from the first time. You knock a person out and give him a concussion, you never forget that.
“When you walk back into the ring a second time to relive that moment, it has to be stressful. You definitely can’t sleep at night.’’
Fury got up both times. He survived that power, especially in the 12th-round when he woke up and climbed back onto his feet with rare resilience.
“This time, he’s not getting up,’’ Wilder said. “I promise you that.’’
Fury, who believes he was robbed of victory on the scorecards in Los Angeles, goes into the rematch with SugarHill Steward in his corner instead of trainer Ben Davison. The change, one of many for Fury, was made because he says he wants to add punching power, especially to his right hand. Steward learned from his mentor and namesake Emanuel Steward, the late Hall of Famer who preached power was the best way to avoid a controversial decision.
But promised power suggests that Fury will be more aggressive, especially early. In fact, he predicted a second-round knockout of Wilder, whose right hand might be as powerful as any in history.
“I think it’s nervous energy from the first fight,’’ Wilder said. “He says he beat me. But he doesn’t really think that. He honestly doesn’t really believe that. That’s why he wants to change up a lot of things. If he really, really believes he beat me, he wouldn’t change so much. He changes trainers. Now, he’s putting his hands in gasoline to make them harder. He’s brought so many people into his camp. There’s so much going on it’s hard to keep up with all the changes.
“Next thing, he’s going to see a spiritual advisor to ease his mind about what’s going to happen to him and his body come Feb. 22.’’
Punching power doesn’t come from a spiritual advisor. A few weeks in the gym with a new trainer won’t produce it either, says Wilder, who was born with it.
“I’ve said it before, he has ‘pillow-esque’ fists,’’ he said. “That’s how soft they are. Maybe my adrenalin was too high. But I didn’t feel anything. Even after the fight, I didn’t feel anything. I took all his punches, the ones that he landed. Walked through them. I don’t respect none of the power he has. He’s just a tall big man who can move around the ring.
Ben Davison said his working relationship with Tyson Fury is over but their friendship remains.
Ben Davison is Tyson Fury’s former trainer. But there’s nothing former about the friendship, he says.
Davison repeated that his friendship with Fury is as strong as ever in the wake of their surprising split last month before the Feb. 22 rematch with Deontay Wilder on Fox/ESPN+ pay-per-view was formally announced late last month.
“We had a working relationship,’’ Davison told iFL TV. “We don’t have a working relationship now. But I think everybody knew that we had a friendship and the friendship remains.’’
Fury caused a stir Monday at a news conference in Los Angeles when he said he was looking to knock out Wilder in two rounds at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.
“If I wasn’t, I would have kept Ben Davison,’’ Fury said. “I’m sick of points decisions. I’ve had plenty, but I’m looking to knock him out.”
In firing Davison and hiring SugarHill Steward, Fury hopes to work on his power. Steward, a student of Kronk Gym’s late Emanuel Steward, comes from the Kronk’s school of power punching. In Los Angeles, Fury, who said he believed he could not win a decision in the United States, talked about taking out Wider with “a Tommy Hearns-like right.’’
In the U.K., Fury’s comments were interpreted as a slight directed at Davison, who was in Fury’s corner for the controversial draw with Wilder Dec. 1, 2018 at Staples Center.
“I understand Tyson’s got a hell of a lot of fans and they might want to know this, know that, but, like I say, there’s no need to go into details,’’ said Davison, who says he will be back in U.K. super middleweight Billy Joe Saunders’ corner. “The working relationship has come to an end and we’re still friends.”
Deontay Wilder says Tyson Fury’s decision to fire trainer Ben Davison is a sign that he’s nervous about his chances in their Feb. 22 rematch
Deontay Wilder looks at change in Tyson Fury’s corner and sees turmoil. But Fury embraces change, calling it an inevitable step in a never-ending quest to get better.
Wilder says Fury’s surprising decision to fire trainer Ben Davison and hire SugarHill Steward is a sign that he’s nervous about his chances in their Feb. 22 rematch on Fox/ESPN+ pay-per-view.
“He changes trainers like he changes his drawers,’’ Wilder said at a news conference this week in Los Angeles, just across the street from where they fought to a controversial draw more than 13 months ago at Staples Center.
But, Wilder suggests, the move from one trainer to another will only leave Fury dizzy and without answers.
“If he beat me, then why all the new trainers?’’ Wilder said. “Every day it changes. Firing and hiring. He wants to talk about being out of shape the first time, but he was in great shape. He spent 100,000 [British] pounds on all those camps.
“I still to this day have the same people with me and I don’t need to change it.’’
Wilder has always been with Jay Deas and began working with Mark Breland in 2008. A familiar face in the corner is believed to be a significant, yet intangible factor, especially amid the pressure and potential adversity in a big fight. For Wilder and Fury, no fight is bigger than their rematch.
Fury says Steward is a familiar face. He got to know him years ago while sparring at the Kronk Gym for SugarHill’s namesake and mentor, the late Emanuel Steward.
The change in Fury’s corner was prompted by what happened in the bloody decision over Otto Wallin on Sept. 14 in Las Vegas. Fury’s father complained that his son looked unprepared. He blamed Davison, saying a change was necessary if his son hoped to beat Wilder in a rematch. Three months later, Davison was gone.
Fury said he was ready to move on anyway. He said he had grown stale.
“You’re never a finished article,’’ Fury said. “You can always improve. I like to keep freshening things up every now and again. I don’t make excuses. I won fair and square and we get to do it again. I’m ready for a fight today.
“I’m looking for a knockout. That’s why I hired SugarHill. He gets you to sit down on that big right hand. That’s what I’m looking for. There’s the game plan. If I wasn’t looking for a knockout, I would have sharpened up what I did in the last fight. I’m not coming for that. I’m looking for my 21st knockout.’’
