British boxer Billy Joe Saunders laid himself out. His boxing video about hitting your significant other has led to his license being suspended pending a hearing by the British Boxing Board of Control.
In the video, the WBO super middleweight champion instructs men how to hit women, using a punching bag as an example.
“I just wanted to make a little video for all you dads, husbands, if you’ve got girlfriends, et cetera,” Saunders said in the video.
“Obviously this COVID-19 is getting very serious and we are isolated away in tight spaces. If your old woman is giving you a little bit of mouth and you try to be patient, you try to be calm, cool, but after the seventh day or sixth day you’re just about to explode.”
Predictably, the 30-year-old Saunders apologized in a tweet after the video received plenty of criticism, saying he would never condone domestic violence. His account, like his boxing license, appears to be suspended.
His promoter, Eddie Hearn, took him to task as well, calling the video “idiotic” in an interview with TalkSport.
“I was appalled really,” he said. “It was so idiotic, it was so frustrating because I know Billy well. He’s a really good kid, with a really good heart … but every now and again he does the most stupid things.
“It’s unacceptable for Joe Bloggs down the street to do it. It’s much more unacceptable for a world champion boxer to be doing it. People who are in abusive relationships are watching that video. You cannot do it, it’s unacceptable.”
In 2018, Saunders was fined £100,000 (roughly $124,000) by the BBBoC after video surfaced of him offering a woman £150 worth of drugs to perform a sex act or punch a passerby. In the video, she punches someone before Saunders drives away.
Saunders, the undefeated WBO super middleweight champion, was due to fight WBA super middleweight champ Canelo Alvarez on May 2 in Las Vegas, but the fight has been postponed because of coronavirus. It’s unclear what impact the BBBoC’s decision would have on a fight contested in the US.
[via New York Post]