Willie Monroe Ready To Travel: Wants Liam Smith or Saunders

By Radio Rahim

Middleweight contender Willie Monroe Jr. (20-2, 6KOs) is gunning for a big fight, and he's ready to travel to the UK to get it done.

This past Saturday night at Turning Stone Casino in New York, Monroe returned for the first since last May's knockout loss to WBC/WBA/IBO/IBF middleweight king Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin.

Monroe scored two knockdowns and boxed his way to a ten round unanimous decision over John Thompson in a Showtime Extreme televised contest.

Monroe is ready to face any top name from junior middleweight to middleweight - including a rematch with Golovkin in the future.

The top name on his list is WBO junior middleweight world champion Liam Smith. If he is unable to secure a fight with Smith, then he is prepared to face WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders. Both Smith and Saunders are looking for dance partners in the coming months.

"The Charlo brothers look phenomenal in their last two fights, those would be two good fights for me. Liam Smith, who beat John Thompson, I wouldn't mind traveling overseas to go fight him. [I'd fight] Billy Joe Saunders, Danny Jacobs, Canelo, David Lemieux - the list goes on. I'm ready to mix it up," Monroe told BoxingScene.com.

"Honestly if I can't get a fight at 154, probably with Liam Smith and get that WBO - because he is a pretty good fighter -  I'd like to get that WBO from Billy Joe Saunders. Another southpaw, another slick fighter. We'll fight somebody with fast hands, somebody who can make us work and somebody who we can make work and we can put on a show."