Billy Joe Saunders talks Demetrius Andrade, porn, and Wilder-Fury

“You aren’t watching porn, are you?” Billy Joe Saunders said to me during a Friday phoner, right before he and Demetrius Andrade hit a presser to hype their October 20 main event at the Gahden in Boston, on a Matchroom/DAZN show put together by Eddie Hearn and Murphys Boxing.

”No,” I assured the 26-0 Brit, who grabbed a bunch of folks onto the Saunders train when he looked like a sweet scientist against David Lemieux in his last outing in December.

“I am not watching porn,” I repeated, as “Sofia the First” played in the background.

”You can know this to be true because I am in my home office, and my daughters, 11 and soon to be 8, are in the room with me.”

“Tell them I said hi,” Saunders instructed, and indeed I did.

“Girls, BJ Saunders, one of the finest middleweight boxers on planet Earth, says hello,” I said.

Bella and Jules looked up from their phones, dutifully said hi, and went back to browsing.

After that thoroughly bizarro and amusing interlude, we got down to business, meaning I asked Saunders what he thinks of the Rhode Island-based Andrade. Oh, and yes, we circled back to porn.

Before that, I asked Saunders what he thinks of the 25-0 Andrade.

“On paper, his skill set is brilliant,” Saunders said, shortly before a presser unfolded at tourist trap Faneuil Hall. “I’d love to see him against better opponents than he’s boxed. He’s had promotional trouble, so that’s been annoying for him,” but physically, he knows Andrade is pretty much top tier.

“Yes, I give him credit but in my opinion he hasn’t boxed anybody as good as Willie Monroe (who Saunders defeated one bout before the Lemieux tango). And no one as good as Chris Eubank (BJ beat him SD in 11-2014), or Andy Lee (MD win 12-2015).” If Andrade gets the better of him in Boston, basically, then Saunders will be a true believer in Boo-Boo.

This bout, Saunders acknowledged, quite likely won’t be a bucket o’ blood pier sixer, a trade fest. No, it will be appealing most to people who dig the sweet science over the savage stylings of bombers and bangers mixing it up.

“It will be who’s the smartest, not an all-out brawl. Who makes first mistake and has to chase.”

He asks that watchers pay attention to detail, to nuances, like whose jab is the more persistent, who is the harder worker. Possibly, there could be some pockets of “explosivity,” he said, the promoter in him kicking in.

And then, the very sensible and pragmatic part of him.

”I can’t give that answer on what it’ll look like til it happens. But if I’m winning I’m going to stay winning,” said Saunders, meaning he’s going to continue the smart boxing, and not be lured into making a mistake, with an ill-timed launch.

“I might have to roll the dice and dig in,” he said. I said yes, the part of me that likes the drama when someone comes back from a precipice would enjoy that if it gets to that.

Saunders indulged me in some off-topic banter. Your guy Tyson Fury versus Deontay Wilder, what does Saunders think of that faceoff?

“Wilder can KO any human being,” Saunders stated. “But I think Tyson is the best heavyweight on the planet.” Yes, he’s biased to Fury, his boy, but he sees Fury as a 90-10 favorite.

And no, he didn’t want to predict him versus Andrade, how that will play out on the DAZN stream.

”I never give predictions, but there could be knockdowns, I reckon someone will touch the canvas. But I’m 110 percent convinced it’s another win for me!”

Oh yes, he said, the Boston Irish showed him ample love and attention; Saunders lauded them as “the best boxing fans out there,” again showing his smarts as a political animal. Then, he finished up with an anti-politically correct climax, after I playfully gave him the opening.

“So, what about you, BJ? You off the porn, being that you are in training for this big bout?”

“Yes,” he replied, chuckling, “No porn on images on my phone, I deleted ‘em last night. I’m going back home tonight, and don’t need anybody seeing those images!”

My three cents: Saunders is from the Tyson Fury school of pugilism. Smart boxer, defensively high above average. No, his affairs won’t be “fan friendly,” as he knows his way to victory is the less risky way. He will offer humor and trash talk and be more “fan friendly” with his banter in between bouts and leading up to his scrums. In the ring, he is a polar opposite: not prone to serving up excessive drama or chills.

Also, a confession. This was my first one on one interview with BJ, and I enjoyed it. I dug that he was able to be candid with me, as when he admitted that “I haven’t helped myself” with some past performances, back when he wasn’t taking the sport as seriously. He knows fans jumped on the bandwagon from the Lemieux scrap and he will need to show more of the same to continue the trend.

Readers, how do you see Saunders versus Andrade playing out? I admitted that when announced, I saw this one as a bout that could be one more for the purists than the masses, as both hitters are risk averse. Now, you tell me what we’ll see.