by Tamas Pradarics
Unbeaten WBO champion Billy Joe Saunders penciled a masterpiece last weekend in the form of a shutout decision win over dangerous former champion David Lemieux at the Place Bell in Laval, Canada and live on HBO. Saunders (26-0, 12 KOs) was under heavy criticism for defending his belt against mediocre opposition since he secured the World Boxing Organization belt in a close fight against veteran Andy Lee.
With his most recent victory against the heavy-handed Lemieux (38-4, 33 KOs) the Hatfield-based titleholder is not only considered among the very best middleweight competitors, but he also took a huge step in the direction of an undisputed 160-pound championship fight against the winner of a proposed tiebreaker super-fight between Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez that is targeted for the Cinco de Mayo weekend in early May, 2018.
Saunders, however, will most likely step into the squared circle at least one more time before he can secure his dream matchup against any of the top dogs in his division. He needs to be active, after all, to be able to keep himself warm for future challenges.
Against Lemieux, Billy Joe was taken care of his mandatory obligations thus his next defense could be against a chosen opponent. That pretty much limits the chances for a tango with top-rated contenders like Daniel Jacobs, Demetrius Andrade, and Jermall Charlo. Saunders will most likely try to find a dance partner who can assist for him to get ready for his long-wished mega-bout against Golovkin or Alvarez.
According to Namibian promoter Nestor Tobias, Walter Kautondokwa can be the right opponent in a voluntary defense for Billy Joe. The unbeaten Kautondokwa (16-0, 15 KOs) ranks No. 6 by the WBO and, most importantly, has been chasing a bout against Saunders through the better part of this year. Tobias, who is the promoter of the outspoken Namibian pugilist first paid a tribute to the great performance Billy Joe had last Saturday.
”It was a much better performance by Saunders than in his previous fight. He clearly had a good game plan, he was very mobile and clearly the strategy was to win every round. It was a good win for him and well done to him, this time against a much better opponent. I, however, feel that Lemieux should have done more to close him down and take the fight to Saunders which I did not see happening. All in all, congratulations to Saunders for a well deserved win and performance,” said Tobias to BoxingScene.com.
Nestor, however, thinks things would be different if the WBO titlist was facing his protegee.
”Well, if you look at Saunders’ last five fights, you cannot compare it with the fight he will have against Kautondowka. You will most likely see Saunders being floored by Walter, because the latter is a serious fighter with great punching power. I know that Kautondokwa is relatively unknown, but man this boy can fight and against the best he will perform even better. We can only hope that he gets an opportunity to step into the ring with Saunders so we can show the world Walter’s boxing prowess. Lemieux was a great former champion, but Kautondokwa is nothing like his last performance with all due respect. We will give Saunders a real run for his money and chances are he will not retain his title in a fight with Kautondokwa.”
The promoter is well aware how difficult it is to secure a world title shot for an African fighter. Tobias had a long way to bring the likes of Julius Indongo, Paulus Moses and Paulus Ambunda to the championship level through the last decade. To somehow find a short route to get the fight against Saunders, Nestor came out with a somewhat unusual offer.
”Look it is always a challenge to get an opportunity for an African fighter against any world champion. We will fight Saunders anytime and anywhere even if we have to pay him to fight him, because at the end of the day we will be getting paid when we say, ’Thank you for your belt!’. The win over Lemieux has given Saunders a lot of leverage which makes it even more difficult to fight him, but if he is interested in real big fights then he knows that Kautondokwa is right here waiting for him.”
You can reach Tamas Pradarics at pradaricst@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter @TomiPradarics.
