By Terence Dooley 

Billy Joe Saunders arrived at the “Bad Blood” press conference in a tough talking, belligerent mood Thursday in London. The middleweight was angered after discovering that Chris Eubank Jr., his mooted opponent for the   November 29th   show at London’s ExCel Arena, had failed to show up.

It was also revealed that Eubank Jr. (17-0, 12KOs) has yet to sign on the dotted line, leaving their proposed EBU Super middleweight title fight up in the air until later this evening. The show is topped by Tyson Fury’s world heavyweight title eliminator against Dereck Chisora.

Promoter Frank Warren revealed that Eubank has until   5pm   tonight to sign his part of the deal or risk losing out on the all-British grudge clash that the contender has repeatedly called for in recent months.  Saunders, though, was bullish when confronted with the news.

“He's got until   5pm   tonight,” Saunders (20-0, 11KOs) insisted of his in-country rival, echoing his long-time promoter's stance.

Saunders pledged to beat Eubank Jr. “for the fans.” He believes that the son of former two-time WBO titlist Chris Eubank has divided boxing opinion in much the same way his famous father did during his prime years. 

“I want to shut him up,” Saunders claimed before vowing to walk away from the sport if he fails to beat Eubank.

His promoter hopes it doesn’t come to that, but is already making contingency plans.

“At   5pm   tonight we will announce what we are doing,” reiterated Warren. “Billy Joe will be in a tough fight and we are looking at a world title shot.  It's a cracking show—hopefully we can get this done.”

Saunders, 25, fired off a final warning for Eubank; the British, Commonwealth and EBU champion told the 25-year-old to either step up to the title level or “carry on beating up journeymen.”

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