Photos: Saunders, Monroe Ready - Saunders' Son Attacks Monroe

By Terence Dooley

WBO middleweight titlist Billy Joe Saunders (24-0, 12 KOs) and challenger Willie Monroe Jr. (21-2, 6 early) both weighed in successfully for tomorrow night’s fight at London's Copper Box Arena despite a spot of late drama arising after Saunders’s young son punched Monroe in the groin then aimed a kick at the American visitor before being removed from the fray.

Saunders hit the scales at 11st 6lbs [160-pounds], Monroe weighed the same, and the two men went head-to-head for the cameras.  Sensing an opportunity, Saunders’s son approached the two fighters, then threw a punch at the New York-based boxer after Monroe ruffled the youngster’s hair.  Promoter Frank Warren quickly stepped in and the two continued their stare down.

The titlist has been working under new trainer Brendan Ingle recently and looked in better shape than has been the case in the past for a fight that he hopes will launch him into a showdown with the winner of linear Champion Saul Alvarez’s middleweight title meeting with unified holder Gennady Golovkin tomorrow night.

Monroe hopes to use the occasion to wipe away the negative memory of the night when he lost to Golovkin by sixth-round stoppage in May 2015, his other loss came against Darnell Boone via a Split Decision in March 2011.  The 30-year-old has reeled off two wins since losing to Golovkin and believes he can emerge from Britain with the title.

Inactive since December, Saunders has cut a frustrated figure after a fight date against mandatory challenger Avtandil Khurtsidze was spiked following the mooted challenger's arrest on conspiracy charges under the RICO Act, but Saunders is now on the verge of going back to work and has vowed to unleash a leaner, meaner fighter on the challenger when the first bell goes.