Billy Joe Saunders wins unilateral decision over Martin Murray

Billy Joe Saunders retained his WBO super middleweight title and may have sent Martin Murray to retirement, winning a one-sided decision today in London.

Saunders (30-0, 14 KOs) won by scores of 118-110, 120-109 and 120-109. Bad Left Hook scored a full sweep for Saunders at 120-108.

Saunders, 31, may not have done anything very eye-catching in this fight, but he was in total control the entire way and looked sharper than in other fights at this level. Murray (39-6-1, 17 KOs) failed in a world title fight for the fifth time, and the second time he had no arguing when it was all over, which he readily admitted.

“I was beaten by a better man,” Murray said. “We never let him find a suitable rhythm, but he was doing just enough. He is a quality fighter, the best man won the night.

When asked about retirement, Murray, 38, did not fully commit as he is a fighter and he knows another offer might be coming, but he seems quite ready to move on.

“I was going to retire two years ago, but I knew there was one big fight in me, another chance for the world title,” he said. “Five times in a world title fight, five times – buddy, I’m not going to have six. I just want to spend time with my family now. I don’t know, never say never, but yeah, I think that’s it. I tried.”

Murray said his back was “out” on him a few weeks ago, and he erupted again around the eighth round. He stressed that this was no excuse and that he had him as close to the best shape as possible, and put him more on the aging and the demands of the sport.

“It takes a lot of wear and tear on my body now. I’m ready for a good rest now, mate, ”he said. “I could have been the doubleweight world champion if the judges and more luck were on my side, but it never worked out that way.

Saunders was not entirely happy with his performance and credited Murray with being able to hang on at various points in the fight. He admitted to smelling rust after 13 months out of the ring, but he was faster, looked stronger, and was the best fighter in this one.

“He’s a cunning old fox and he knows how to tie you up. It’s not a performance that I’m going to call out people’s names, ”Saunders said. “I probably needed the rounds, to be honest with you. The bottom line is I have 30-0, let’s see if I can do a big fight and get up.

“The endurance was there, but the timing was a bit off,” Saunders added. “There was a bit of circular rust, a bit of rhythm was missing.”

Promoter Eddie Hearn, meanwhile, used the time of his interview to push strongly the idea – if not directly to Saunders, but more to the public – that Saunders needs to stay in shape and be ready for a big fight afterwards.

“It is important that the momentum continues. He has to be a pro now, he has to practice this Christmas, he has to keep his weight, he has to be ready, ”Hearn said.

“We can’t waste the opportunity to find out how good he really is, and we don’t see him yet because he doesn’t mix with the elite of the elite. Golovkin, Canelo, Callum Smith, Demetrius Andrade, that has to be one of them next. Otherwise, we waste our time and he loses his career.

Saunders has said he is ready for any of the names mentioned, and that if he wishes Callum Smith the best against Canelo Alvarez on December 19, if Canelo wins, that is Saunders’ main goal, because this will be anyone’s.

James Tennyson TKO-1 Josh O’Reilly

Boxing Matchroom

This is going to sound really shabby for O’Reilly, who flew in from Canada and tried his hand at fame, but O’Reilly had no deal in the ring with Tennyson, no deal in a WBA eliminator. It was a brutal mismatch. O’Reilly, 29 (16-1, 6 KOs) arrived with a very protected record and shouldn’t have been here. It was also predictable one-sided, being honest. O’Reilly lost twice and finished in 2:14.

Tennyson (28-3, 24 KOs) is an imperfect fighter, but seems to have settled in well at 135, has legitimate hands and is fun to watch. He’s now in line for a shot on a WBA belt, the real outfit by Teofimo Lopez and the secondary held by Gervonta “Tank” Davis. He probably won’t fight Lopez, and he probably won’t fight Tank either, because you can’t sell Davis-Tennyson on PPV and Davis wants to fight PPV from now on. Eddie Hearn admitted that Tennyson needed some higher level fights, at least one more, before going for a high level fighter.

What could Tennyson ends up fighting Rolando “Rolly” Romero – who ridiculously holds the ridiculous WBA provisional belt that has absolutely no reason to exist – if Tank drops his secondary belt at some point, which he might because. he has a real belt at 130, too. The WBA said after Romero’s win over Jackson Marinez that they would “explore” the possibility of ordering a rematch, but chances are the organization just wanted to say that and wait for people to forget about it. Considering that this happened three and a half months ago and that no one talks about it anymore, it would be a mission: accomplished.

Undercard results

• Shannon Courtenay TKO-7 Dorota Norek: Courtenay has come down to 118 for this fight, having failed (by many) to do 122 last time around, which might sound savage, but it feels more of a full, serious emphasis on conditioning and all. Shannon looked good here, overcoming Norek’s wild and cheerful plagues (6-2, 1 KO) early, then taking over. Courtney (6-1, 3 KOs) had much better technique, much better skill, and once Norek got past her idea it was a wrap. Courtenay pummeled Norek on a right hand in the seventh round, and although the Polish fighter got back up, it was over, and Courtenay managed to bounce back from his first loss in August to Rachel Ball. She said she was feeling good about the weight and was planning to stay here.

• Donte Dixon PTS-6 Angel Dragon: A learning fight for Dixon (5-0, 3 KOs), a 20-year-old featherweight from Sheffield, who took this one by a score of 58-56, but without any controversy. About two rounds the maximum you could give to Dragone (5-2, 0 KOs), a 30-year-old Welshman who has now lost two in a row but came in to fight and put in a good effort. Have fun six rounds.
• Lerrone Richards PTS-8 Timo Laine: To be honest I didn’t get to see much of it as it faced off with the Spence-Garcia weigh-in, but the general consensus seems to be that even though Richards (14-0, 3 KOs) won every round, and the score was 80-72 here, there is still real reason to be concerned about his ultimate advantage, if you’re hoping he might be a world title guy. He can box, there’s no question, has a bit of flexibility and fights smartly, but the lack of pop will be a problem against the best at 168, at least in theory. But the European title? Yes, he could, and that’s Eddie Hearn’s goal for the start of 2021.