Saunders: No Comment On Training Situation Until Tibbs Meeting
By Elliot Foster
Billy Joe Saunders has had his say on the split with his trainer.
The WBO middleweight world champion, whose mandatory challenger is Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, was last in the ring on December 3 in Paisley, Scotland.
Saunders (24-0, 12 KOs), without Jimmy Tibbs in his corner, laboured to a points victory over Russia’s Artur Akavov, exclusively live on BoxNation.
And it was revealed on Monday (December 19) by Saunders’ promoter Frank Warren, when he was speaking to talkSPORT’s Gareth A. Davies, that the 27-year-old Hatfield ace had ended his long-time working relationship with Tibbs, as previously reported on Boxing Scene.
The fighter, however, has stopped short of confirming the parting of company with the stalwart, 70, and instead insisted that the pair have yet to sit down and discuss the finer details of their issues.
“Jimmy Tibbs is the best trainer I’ve ever worked with, the most knowledgeable I’ve ever worked with. He knows so much, it’s a joke,” Saunders told iFL TV in an in-depth interview published on Wednesday.
“He knows me inside and out. We still haven’t had a meeting and a sit down to discuss the issues because I’m just waiting on a few other things before I go and meet him, but I’m hopeful it’ll be before Christmas that we will sit down and have a chat.”
Saunders was helped on fight night by his friend Ben Davies, who led the corner, esteemed trainer Danny Vaughan and Johnney Roye who dealt with the cuts.
He thanked the trio, as well as his aforementioned promoter Warren and management team MGM Marbella, but said that there would be no further comment on the matter until he and Tibbs had spoken.
“Before I start telling the media about the situation, I’d like to meet him, sit down with him, tell him how it is and have a chat,” he continued telling iFL TV.
“It’s not right, me sitting and talking about the situation until I sit and have a good chat with Jimmy.
“With Jimmy and I, there’s no problem. It’s not like we’ve had a big bust up or an argument because we haven’t.
“I see Jimmy as family and I want to talk about nothing to nobody until I sit down and have a chat with Jimmy.”
Further details will be revealed in due course.
