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Billy Joe Saunders has no intention of ceding any ground to rival countryman Chris Eubank Jr.
The former super middleweight titleholder recently responded to comments Eubank made regarding the terms for a potential rematch between the two fighters. Eubank made it clear that he thinks he should be the “A-side” in that fight.
“[Saunders] has no credibility, he has no power in the sport so he can’t be saying he wants £5 million,” Eubank told Talk Sport a couple of weeks ago. “He’ll get what he’s given. I’m the A-side and once he understands that we can talk.”
Of course, Saunders, 32, disagrees. The two fought in 2014, with Saunders eking out a close split decision win.
“The only two big fights [Eubank] took was myself and George Groves [in 2018] and he got beat both [times],” Saunders told IFL TV in a recent interview. “I saw something about him being the A side…that’s the reason why the Frank Warrens, Eddie Hearns, even his own brother in law can’t work with him. They can’t work with him because he’s such a hard work. To be fair, Eddie’s the man to make big fights. Frank Warren also makes big fights.
“There’s a difference between As and B level fighters. He hasn’t beat anyone that is even on the verge of winning a world title.”
For Saunders (30-1, 14 KOs), who is coming off a 8th-round TKO defeat to Canelo Alvarez in May, the fact that he defeated the 31-year-old Eubank (30-2, 22 KOs) already should make him the automatic A-side.
“My argument is I beat him the first time,” Saunders continued. “I’m the A side, because if somebody beats me and I can get a rematch, I would take less money and do what I needed to get the fight on. That’s the bottom line of it. I won, you lost. That’s it. That’s boxing, it happens. You know? If you want to argue A and B side, we can go through it.
“My record is 31 fights, 30 wins, his record [has] two losses. My record’s one loss. My record also says: Southern Area, European, Commonwealth, British, two-time, two-weight world champion. His record says British champion, IBO title. He just wants to stay relevant through the boxing game. There are plenty of fighters better than him.”
Saunders has repeatedly said he is seriously contemplating retirement and would only return to the sport for a large payday. He is still healing up from a broken orbital bone he suffered in the Alvarez fight. One thing is for certain, a Saunders-Eubank rematch would be an easy one to promote.
“His feet work like a crippled duck,” Saunders said of Eubank’s fighting style. “Roy Jones even told me that, the words he said was this… ‘He’s like a duck in water with no wings.’ That was in a facetime with Roy Jones, and that’s his trainer. Look, Everyone knows the Eubanks are hard to deal with.”
Eubank is scheduled to face Anatoli Muratov on Oct. 2 in Wembley, England.