Billy Joe Saunders: Win over Akavov was ‘terrible performance’

Billy Joe Saunders considers himself an honest man, and didn’t pull any punches when it came to his own performance on Saturday, a narrow points win over unheralded challenger Artur Akavov in Paisley, Scotland.

Here’s what Saunders (24-0, 12 KO) had to say about the victory:

"I'd like to apologise to the fans especially those who have paid for it, it was a terrible performance. I'm honest man. That was terrible. A win's a win. I've been out a year, a bit overweight. A few adjustments to camp. Just flat, really, really flat. I've called Golovkin out, but on that performance I want to be embarrassed."

Saunders also said he would sit down with trainer Jimmy Tibbs, who was not in his corner for the bout, and that he also stopped sparring four-to-five weeks before the fight “for certain reasons.”

The 27-year-old Saunders looked in no way any sort of challenge for Gennady Golovkin (36-0, 33 KO), who rules the division and holds the WBC, IBF, and WBA titles, while Saunders holds the WBO belt.