PROMOTER Frank Warren today held the final press conference ahead of Saturday’s vacant WBO world super-middleweight title clash between Billy Joe Saunders and Shefat Isufi at The Lamex Stadium, home of Stevenage FC.

Saunders, who comes from nearby Hatfield will be bidding to become a two-weight world champion having previously held the WBO middleweight crown.

Also on the bill is fast emerging London heavyweight star and Olympic silver medalist Joe Joyce who faces giant Russian former world title challenger Alexander Ustinov.

In a double title fight Lichfield’s British super-bantamweight champion Brad Foster meets Bristol’s Commonwealth belt holder Ashley Lane.

Here are a selection of quotes from the presser.

FRANK WARREN

Bill should be in a position to have big fights and he will get them. It is a shame that fighters avoid him. We twice signed to fight Golovkin and I know Canelo’s connections don’t want to know. I had a chat with Joe Gallagher a couple weeks ago about Callum Smith and he said ‘in a couple of fights time’, but Callum will be light-heavyweight by then. Chris Eubank Jr has shown no interest in avenging his loss to Bill.

Ustinov is a big, big man and I know him very well. This is a tough fight for Joe and a step up for him. Joe doesn’t want marking time fights and this is no gimme. Joe is out to make a statement and cannot afford to slip up.

BILLY JOE SAUNDERS

This has been a long time coming. I had a terrible 2018 and feel my title was robbed from me. I jumped at this fight when it was offered and I will become a two-weight world champion.

I’m not looking past Isufi, but I am looking for the big names. I am 29, I know I have got it inside me and nobody has seen my best.

With the backing of BT Sport we can make the big fights. It is all fine saying I look good hitting the pads, but I have to be on my A game and send a message to the other super-middleweights.

If I do bring it, I should box his head off. Whatever he brings I will fetch ten-fold more.

I have been training with Ben and it has been good, enjoyable and great bouncing around with Tyson Fury. Everything has gone well and I’m enjoying boxing again.

SHEFAT ISUFI

I am doing this for me, but to become Albania’s first world boxing champion is big for them and also Germany as I box under their flag.

Billy Joe will be trying everything to win and so will I.

If Billy Joe did win I will congratulate him, but it will be the other way around.

Billy Joe is quick, fast and a hard puncher. I can also punch and one punch could make the difference.

My father died when I was young and he is always in my mind. When I win I will go to his grave and thank him.

JOE JOYCE

I am fighting fit and good to go. Training has gone well with Adam Booth. I am looking for nine wins, nine knockouts.

Ustinov is very experienced, big, strong, tough and this is a step up. I have to beat him to get to the next level. I know what he has in his arsenal and what I have to do to beat him. He can punch, but I take a shot and give one back.

ALEXANDER USTINOV

This is a very hard fight and I am prepared to win. Joe is a very good boxer and I know him well. We will see who is the strongest boxer this weekend. Joe wants to knock me out, but everyone thinks they win by knockout.

BRAD FOSTER

I have been learning on the job and picked up the British title in my last fight against Josh Wale when I was the away fighter so I am not doing too badly. Ash has got a lot more experience and this is no walkover. It is a tough fight. I am a happy Brad and when I’m happy I perform better.

ASHLEY LANE

I watched him against Josh and it was a good performance. In my last seven fights I have turned my career around after up and downs. My experience and what I have learned from the last two years will give me the strength to win. I spar with Lee Haskins, Lee Selby and Andrew Selby. That is a high level of sparring.

Tickets for saturday night’s show can be purchased via borotickets.co.uk and are priced as below:

£250 – Hospitality

£150 – Pitch

£100 – Pitch

£75 – Pitch

£50 – Stand

£40 – Stand are now completely sold out

More information on saturday night’s show can be found in this helpful guide.

(May 13, 2019) — Champions Weekend is coming to ESPN+, as two of the United Kingdom’s most dynamic fighters — former WBO middleweight world champion Billy Joe Saunders and former unified bantamweight world champion Ryan Burnett — are set to headline separate shows.

Burnett will battle Jelbirt Gomera for the vacant WBC International super bantamweight title Friday at Ulster Hall in his hometown of Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Burnett-Gomera live stream will begin at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT exclusively on ESPN+ and will also feature a compelling vacant IBF European junior lightweight title fight between Declan Geraghty and Marco McCullough. Geraghty and McCullough were roommates in the Irish amateur ranks and will renew acquaintances with a world ranking on the line.

Saunders will take center stage Saturday, as he battles Shefat Isufi for the vacant WBO super middleweight title from Lamex Stadium in Stevenage, England. The Saunders-Isufi live stream will start at 2:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. PT on ESPN+ and will also include the highly anticipated heavyweight showdown between 2016 Olympic super heavyweight silver medalist Joe Joyce (8-0, 8 KOs) and former world title challenger Alexander Ustinov (34-3, 25 KOs).

ESPN+ is the leading direct-to-consumer sports streaming service. Fans can sign up for ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) at www.espnplus.com.

Saunders (27-0, 13 KOs) made three successful defenses of the title he won from Andy Lee on Dec. 19, 2015, punctuating his middleweight title run with a dominant decision over David Lemieux in December 2017. A 2008 Olympian, Saunders captured British, Commonwealth and European middleweight titles, defeating the likes of Chris Eubank Jr., John Ryder and Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan. Isufi (27-3-2, 20 KOs) has won 10 consecutive fights, most recently defending his WBO Intercontinental super middleweight belt with a unanimous decision over Mohamed El Achi in his adopted hometown of Munich, Germany.

Burnett (19-1, 9 KOs) recently signed a long-term promotional contract with Top Rank and will be competing at super bantamweight after a sterling run at bantamweight. He defeated Lee Haskins via unanimous decision in June 2017 to win the IBF world title, and four months later, he bested Zhanat Zhakiyanov to unify the IBF and WBA super world titles. Burnett suffered his first pro defeat last November when he tore his oblique while throwing a punch versus Nonito Donaire and was forced to retire on his stool following the fourth round.

Gomera (14-5, 7 KOs) is a Filipino southpaw who will be fighting for the first time outside of Asia. He is a former Filipino super bantamweight and featherweight champion and is coming off an eight-round unanimous decision win over Lloyd Jardeliza.

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BILLY JOE SAUNDERS will bid to win the hearts of the Hertfordshire public when he fights for the first time in the county as a professional, seeking to become a two-weight world champion by claiming the vacant WBO world super middleweight title against the Albanian Shefat Isufi.

What Saunders hopes will be his crowning glory will take place in the middle of the pitch at the Lamex Stadium, home of Stevenage FC, and performing on home soil carries considerable appeal for the unbeaten – 27-0 – former WBO world middleweight champion.

“Most definitely and I think it has been a long time coming,” said the 29-year-old. “You see I have mostly boxed in London and been at home, but I’ve never boxed here and it is interesting because I believe I am going to get a very big following.

“I am very excited to be honest with you, excited and nervous, because it is no good fighting at a venue like this and performing like a pillock! I’ve got to put on a good performance, so I am looking to repeat the David Lemieux performance and get the win to make myself the No.1.”

To do that, the southpaw stylist will have to overcome the 27-3-2 Isufi, who is unbeaten at super middleweight after previously campaigning at cruiser and light heavy. Saunders insists he is not a threat to be taken lightly.

“Listen, a lot of people are looking at him and underestimating him a little bit. I am looking at him and I can, from studying him, see that what he does he does really well. He is not appealing on the eye, but he is better than he actually looks.

“He is obviously No.1 in the world for something and he has got to be taken care of professionally. I have been working hard and I am going to get the job done.

“He is unbeaten at the weight and he has cemented his No.1 spot for a reason. I’ve got to take him seriously but, at the same time, it is hard not to look past him because I lost my world title without getting beat and I want to be world champion as quickly as I can.”

Saunders, indeed, could have opted to remain at middleweight and was nominated as mandatory challenger for his old title after Demetrius Andrade assumed his former status following their aborted collision last year.

The Hatfield resident declined the mandatory invitation in order to challenge for two-weight honours and believes the champions and contenders at super middle are far more willing to engage than at 160lbs.

“For one the financial gain was silly, silly change. Then there was nothing going my way and I would have been going to his back yard again, where I didn’t get fairly treated the first time. I know that and I know deep down what went on, but for good fighters it is not about sitting around watching it is about how you come back.

“I have to come back stronger.

“It is open with some good names and some good fights to be made. People might say I am not a big super middleweight, but they will find I will be big enough for it. My style has never been big and bullying, that is not me, my style is being clever and smart.

“I have got unfinished business at middleweight, but I am putting myself in a position at super middle to give myself different options.

“The thing is with the super middleweights is that everyone is willing to fight everyone. There is nobody sitting back hanging out for the last pound and that is what I like about it. I’ve been at the top of the middleweights and the stars at the top want all of the pie and everything their own way.

“It is all on their terms, but I am just in it to win it and prove I am the best. I will put myself in a position at super middleweight where they have got to fight me.

“It is just about timing.”

Billy Joe Saunders v Shefat Isufi headlines the bill at the Lamex Stadium, home of Stevenage FC, with unbeaten heavyweight Joe Joyce in the chief supporting contest against Alexander Ustinov.

Tickets can be purchased via borotickets.co.uk and are priced as below:

£250 – Hospitality
£150 – Pitch
£100 – Pitch
£75 – Pitch
£50 – Stand
£40 – Stand

BILLY JOE SAUNDERS insists he will not underestimate Shefat Isufi in his big super-middleweight test.

Saunders (27-0, 13 KOs) will be in action just 12 miles from his Hatfield home when he faces the German based Albanian at Stevenage FC’s Lamex Stadium on Saturday May 18, live on BT Sport.

The WBO ‘Interim’ title is currently on the line although promoter Frank Warren hopes the organisation’s vacant world title will be at stake as champion Gilberto Ramirez is believed to be considering relinquishing and boxing at light-heavyweight.

Isufi (27-3-2, 20 KOs) is ranked number one in the latest WBO rankings with Saunders right behind him in the second position.

Saunders, 29, said: “It is one of them where people don’t expect too much, but Isufi can be very dangerous.

“He has come from nothing and got his big chance. You don’t get ranked number one in the world for nothing, especially with who he is promotion wise.

“He has boxed his way into that position. I have to take him seriously and deal with him appropriately.”

Saunders has settled well with trainer Ben Davison after splitting with Dominic Ingle and there is no doubt that his words about taking Isufi seriously are true.

The former WBO champion has been living at a hotel on the outskirts of Manchester for seven weeks and training at Ricky Hatton’s gym.

“I am loving it at Hatton’s gym with Ben and I am just enjoying it again, added Saunders.

“I have to be happy at what I am doing and I will get the best out of myself. If It’s not like that it can become a slog.

“There is no secret that 2018 was a terrible year with terrible memories. Everything got to me a little bit.

“I just needed a complete change. It was the same when I was with Jimmy Tibbs. He was the best coach. I always use the term ‘coach’ and ‘trainer’ and he was the best purist coach I have been around.

“I just needed a change then because my head was going stale. Sometimes when your head goes stale you need that bit of change as a fighter and that is what I needed to get that spark.

“I have to stay ready. Because of my style – slick and fast, you don’t get to keep that forever so I want to show it while I’ve got it and beat whoever they put in front of me.”

Billy Joe Saunders v Shefat Isufi headlines the bill at the Lamex Stadium, home of Stevenage FC with unbeaten heavyweight Joe Joyce in the chief supporting contest.

Tickets can be purchased via borotickets.co.uk and are priced as below:

£250 – Hospitality

£150 – Pitch

£100 – Pitch

£75 – Pitch

£50 – Stand

£40 – Stand

THE EARLY SUPPORTING cast for Billy Joe Saunders’ WBO Interim world super middleweight title showdown with Shefat Isufi on Saturday May 18 can now be revealed, with a number of further title contests to be confirmed shortly.

Saunders takes on the WBO No.1 ranked super middleweight Isufi at the Lamex Stadium – home of Stevenage FC – and a number of the top young players in the boxing business will be taking to the pitch bidding to score with knockout performances on the night.

After missing out on featuring on the recent Leicester show through illness, the snappy featherweight Ryan ‘The Piranha’ Garner returns to the ring for his ninth professional fight. The exciting 21-year-old from Southampton has recorded six KOs from his eight fights so far and is looking to get himself in title contention this year.

Former world amateur champion Willy Hutchinson will have his eighth pro fight in what will be his fifth fight inside a year as the Scot gathers experience in the light heavyweight division, while cruiserweight James Branch jr from Hainault enters into his fifth pro fight seeking a first KO finish.

Unbeaten super lightweight Sanjeev Sahota returns to the ring at Stevenage looking to build on his 11 wins so far, with gym-mate Harley Benn having his seventh fight at super welterweight.

Long-standing Team GB servant Harvey Horn from Chigwell continues building towards domestic flyweight title action with his sixth pro fight.

In a further special attraction on the night, the multi-titled standout amateur star Lisa Whiteside is set to turn professional and will make her debut at the Lamex Stadium.

The decorated flyweight – a natural rival for Nicola Adams in the pro ranks – is a seven-time national champion and a 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medallist, who also won silver at the 2014 world championships, having won bronze at the 2012 edition. She is also a European championship silver medallist from 2011.

Also featuring on the bill is Streatham super bantamweight Chris Bourke (2-0), Hitchin super middleweight Graham Tirrell (9-0), London light heavyweight Ollie Pattinson (9-0), Aylesbury light heavyweight Adi Burden (8-0) and Milton Keynes middleweight Conor Wright (7-0).

Tickets for Saunders v Isufi at Stevenage FC are now on sale via www.borotickets.co.uk and are priced as below:
£200 – Hospitality
£150 – Pitch
£100 – Pitch
£75 – Pitch
£50 – Stand
£40 – Stand

BILLY JOE SAUNDERS came face-to-face with Shefat Isufi who he meets for the WBO interim super-middleweight world title at the Lamex Stadium, home of Stevenage FC on Saturday May 18, live on BT Sport

Saunders (27-0) will be closing in on becoming a two-weight world champion after his unbeaten reign as WBO middleweight champion when he faces Isufi on Frank Warren’s ‘King Of Herts’ bill at the Hertfordshire stadium close to his Hatfield home.

Munich based Albanian Isufi (27-3-2) is on a ten fight winning streak, the current WBO intercontinental champion and the number one contender for the WBO title, held by Mexican Gilberto Ramirez.

**MEDIA ARE WELCOME TO DOWNLOAD AND USE THE FACE OFF FROM TODAY’S PRESS CONFERENCE ON THIS LINK**

Here are a selection of quotes from their press conference at the venue today:

FRANK WARREN

“We were stuck with no London venue available in May, so we decided to think outside the box and go local to Bill, and bring the fight to Stevenage FC. It’s a good facility which will have a 10-12,000 capacity for boxing. ”

“We tried to make the Chris Eubank Jr rematch and they didn’t want to know, they don’t want Eubank to fight Billy Joe Saunders under any circumstances.”

“The champion Gilberto Ramirez called the WBO and said he would vacate and they put the fight out to Billy and Isufu and we agreed terms, but Ramirez then said he hadn’t decided so this is now interim title. I believe Ramirez could vacate and the winner will be declared full champion.”

“Billy has been very avoided. We signed twice to fight Golovkin and Canelo doesn’t want to fight him.”

BILLY JOE SAUNDERS

“This is a good homecoming, but a bit of pressure because I have never boxed so close to home. I’ve got to make sure I’m on my game because Isufi is looking to take my head off. My mind has got to be focused and set new challenges.”

“I love the Ingle gym and loved working with Dominic Ingle and there are no hard feelings – he may even be in the corner with Ben. There is unfinished business in me and people haven’t seen the best.”

“I have never been more determined and I have a lot to prove this year. I had a terrible 2018 inside and outside the ring and I know I have to be on top flight for Isufi.”

“I am open to boxing at super-middleweight and middleweight. I’ve not got miles on the clock, in my 27 fights I have taken ten hard punches and I am just coming into my prime. I believe I am the best middleweight and super-middleweight in the world bar none. I want to get noticed at 168lb. I would definitely fancy a fight against Callum Smith. I mentioned it to Frank before that it would be a good fight to make. He is great fighter and the type I want to test myself against. It would be hard to say, ‘No’ to that fight.”

BEN DAVISON (Saunders Trainer)

“I’ve always worked with Billy Joe on the technical side. We carried on doing some sessions together and a few weeks ago Billy gave me the call and I was more than happy to accept.”

“When Tyson Fury was in a bad position Billy put us together and we’re there to help each other. Billy and Tyson make a good little team. Tyson’s wife always tells me how much Billy was in touch encouraging him to get back in the gym when he was struggling.”

“Billy should leave this sport knowing he one of the best British fighters ever. Isufi is a stern test, but Billy will produce the goods.”

SHEFAT ISUFI

“Billy can have a million people cheering him on, there’s only going to be two of us in that ring on fight night. I will give Billy Joe a very tough night.”

“Billy is very good fighter, very fast and quick and a good puncher but I am very confident I will give him a tough time.”

“I promised my father on his death bed that I would be a world champion and this is my chance.”

Saunders vs Isufi at the Lamex Stadium is subject to licensing and will go on sale via www.borotickets.co.uk on April 1st.

Tickets will be priced as below:

£200 – Hospitality
£150 – Pitch
£100 – Pitch
£75 – Pitch
£50 – Stand
£40 – Stand

BILLY JOE SAUNDERS describes the prospect of fighting for the WBO super middleweight world title against Shefat Isufi as the beginning of a new chapter in his always colourful career.

The unbeaten former WBO middleweight champion will bid to become a two-weight world champion on April 13 at The SSE Arena, Wembley live on BT Sport, in a fight that he hopes will unlock the door towards the marquee encounters he has long craved.

The 29-year-old was middleweight world champion from December 2015 until late last year, but his wish to unify belts did not come to fruition despite an obvious willingness on his part, with him twice signing a contract to fight Gennady Golovkin, who held the other three belts.

By seizing the opportunity to fight for the vacant title at 168lbs, Saunders hopes his options will expand in what is a more fragmented division that increases the possibility of unifications, plus putting him in a strong position should the current middleweight kings head north in weight.

There is also the winner of this weekend’s domestic duel between James DeGale and Chris Eubank jr to target.

“It is just a new chapter for me,” reasoned the 27-0 southpaw stylist. “At middleweight I tried everything to make the big fights happen after my David Lemieux performance and we chased the Canelo and Golovkin fights.

“So this is about giving myself another option instead of looking in that one room. I can go back down to middleweight or stay at super middleweight – wherever the big fights present themselves, I’m there.

“2018 was a terrible year for me in my boxing career to say the least. When you get knocked down it is how you come back and I have got Tyson Fury to look to with what he’s gone through and it just gives me that little bit more belief.

“You can sit and mope around or you can get on with it. I’m going to get straight back and I am fighting for the super middleweight world title. How will I be at the weight? It might not suit me as much… Time will tell.

“I’m going to come back bigger and better than ever and the super middleweight world title is the way forward. There is a big fight at the weekend and I would love the winner, while you’ve also got Callum Smith. If Canelo and Golovkin don’t want it, maybe I can get a big one in the UK.

“I’ve got plenty of life left in me and I will fight anybody, anybody at all from middle to super middle and Frank will make them. He has delivered what I asked for, I said ‘Frank, I want a world title fight’ and he has come up with this. It is a very good move to put me in position for the big names.”

Ticket details for ‘Redemption’, Saunders v Isufi, at the SSE Arena, Wembley will be announced soon.

BILLY JOE SAUNDERS will bid to become a two-weight world champion when he challenges for the vacant WBO super middleweight world title against Shefat Isufi at The SSE Arena, Wembley on Saturday April 13, live on BT Sport.

Saunders, a former Southern Area, Commonwealth, British, WBO International and European champion, was an undefeated WBO world champion at middleweight, having won the belt in December 2015 with a points victory over former champion Andy Lee.

Successful defences followed against Artur Akavov, Willie Monroe jr and, most notably, a career-best performance against David Lemieux on away soil in Canada

The 29-year-old was set to make a further defence last October against mandatory challenger Demetrius Andrade, but eventually opted to relinquish his title after the Massachusetts commission refused to licence him to fight in Boston after an adverse finding in a VADA test.

The Hatfield southpaw would have been clear to defend under the rules of the British Boxing Board of Control, as well as the UKAD and WADA agencies that govern doping protocols.

Still undefeated at 27-0, Saunders returned to the ring in December in a keep busy exercise against Charles Adamu and was recently installed as mandatory challenger for his previous title, with Andrade now holding the belt.

Saunders will now break new territory by moving up to 168lbs and seeking to reign at a second weight class.

His opponent is the WBO No.1 ranked Munich-based Serbian Isufi, who holds a record of 27-3-2 with 20 KOs.

The 29-year-old is the holder of the WBO Intercontinental title and has made two defences of the belt he won by defeating David Zegarra via an 11th round stoppage for the vacant title in July 2017.

He has previously fought for and won the IBF European title at light heavyweight, as well as the WBC Eurasia Pacific Boxing Council cruiserweight title. Isufi is undefeated as a super middleweight.

“It is a brilliant opening for me,” said Saunders on his shot at a second world title and went on to explain his reasoning for passing up his mandatory status at middleweight.

“You’ve got these rumours that Andrade is going for shoulder surgery, as well as the financial side of it with the split – it all doesn’t add up.

“Me winning this super middleweight title will put me in a great position for unifications with the likes of Callum Smith, while we’ve got Chris Eubank boxing James DeGale at the weekend.

“There are a lot of big, big fights at this weight, but my real home of homes is middleweight, so I can move down at any time I want and be back as mandatory for my middleweight title and then become a three-time world champion.

“So I am really looking forward to it and Isufi comes as a really stiff test. He is very, very strong and you have to be really switched on and calculating with this sort of opponent. He is one of those who, with what he does, he does very, very well when the bell goes.

“He has boxed at light heavyweight and cruiserweight so he is going to be a big, big lump and I need to make sure I am on it and stay away from those big bombs.”

Saunders went on to acknowledge that the winning of another world title will afford him the licence to remain active and not be left waiting where big fights are concerned.

“Boxing has its ups and downs, so when you get a world title opportunity it is hard to turn it down,” he considered.

“I have to take my hat off to Frank Warren because he has delivered for me after we were finding it hard to make the Andrade situation happen at this time.

“It will 100 per cent happen in the future, not on their terms, but on mine because I am the bigger name and have beaten the better men. I will prove it by going up a weight, winning another world title and take it from there.

“If the big fights at middleweight come along then fine, but if not I am giving myself another gate to walk through. I have been stuck in one room where I have been looking around and none of these big middleweights want to fight. I have put myself on offer to them and even when I was world champion it wasn’t happening.

“I am opening another door now and giving myself a little bit more variety when it comes to opponents.”

Promoter Frank Warren added: “This is a fantastic opportunity for Bill to become a two-weight world champion. He has operated at middleweight for a long time and reached the pinnacle, so we both now believe the time is right for him to step up and prove himself at super middleweight.

“If he is successful against Isufi – and nobody is taking the threat he presents lightly – the possibilities are huge, with unifications and great fights all out there for him.

“I am sure the fans will get behind Bill in their numbers and support him in bidding to become a world champion once again.”

An announcement will be made soon on when tickets can be purchased for this event.