Date: 24th November 2016 at 12:55pm
Written by:

It seems an age since Billy Joe Saunders became the WBO middleweight world title holder.

It was of course December 2015 when Saunders beat the then holder of the belt, Andy Lee.

Since that night Saunders has often threatened to fight but never quite made it.

However, it was thought that his absence from the ring would end this Saturday evening, down in Cardiff, with a first defence of his title against the Russian fighter Artur Akavov, but that will not now happen.

Instead that elusive first defence of the title will now take place a week later, up in Scotland, in Paisley.

However, it seems that Saunders is not the one to blame for the delayed bout, it?s all down to the medical paperwork the Russian camp were obliged to provide, with Frank Warren remarking about the situation,

?It?s extremely frustrating for all parties and especially Billy.

?The medicals were sent late and mostly in Russian. Once translated it then became apparent they were not complete.?
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With Saunders further adding,

?I was ready for a big performance.?

Quite how Saunders fans feel about the late switch, having forked out for travel and tickets for Cardiff I dread to think.