Saunders Smiles: Let Everyone Doubt Me, I Can Beat Golovkin!
By Edward Chaykovsky
WBO world middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders (24-0, 12 KOs) says he is ready to become the number one fighter at 160-pounds.
To earn that position, he needs to defeat WBA super, IBO, WBC and IBF king Gennady "GGG" Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs).
Golovkin fought last Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and won a tough twelve round unanimous decision over mandatory challenger Daniel Jacobs.
Their teams are in talks for a showdown on June 10th in Golovkin's homeland of Kazakhstan.
Because of injuries and fight delays, Saunders was only able to fight once in 2016 with a lackluster decision win over Artur Akavov in December. It was Saunders' first defense of the title that he won from Andy Lee in December 2015.
"The teams are talking, and we're waiting on a date. I'm waiting patiently. He says he wants to fight. We can't wait around forever, because there are other options. I would like a big unification, so I hope it's going to go ahead. We've just got to wait to see what happens with the two teams. We've got a Plan B, but Golovkin is Plan A, so if he wants it, it's there," Saunders told Isaac Robinson.
Because of Saunders' poor performance in December, he is being tabbed as a massive underdog against Golovkin. But the underdog label is spurring him on to pull off a major upset.
Saunders has already reviewed Golovkin's win over Jacobs and made a lot of mental notes from that contest.
"I want to go and prove the world wrong. Let everyone doubt me. I'll prove to the world what I can do, and there's no better place to do that than in his backyard. That will get me fired up even more," Saunders said.
"I watched the Jacobs fight yesterday, and I think I can undo something in Golovkin and get the win. I know what I can do to beat Golovkin, and that's why I didn't stay up to watch that fight. If you stand in front of him to have a punch-up, then you're asking for trouble. But it you want to be clever, that's the way forward. You've got to be very cute against someone like Golovkin, and I believe he's never been in the ring with someone with as much ringcraft as I've got."
