Billy Joe Saunders targets Chris Eubank Jr for comeback fight

Billy Joe Saunders has identified Chris Eubank Jr as the only opponent who could persuade him to return from retirement. The former two-division world champion has not fought since his eighth-round stoppage loss to Canelo Alvarez in 2021.

Saunders, now 36, said he would be willing to face Eubank again without taking a preparatory bout. He believes he could defeat his former domestic rival immediately and said Eubank’s most recent performance had strengthened that view.

The pair first met in 2014, when Saunders won by split decision. Although the judges were divided, Saunders controlled much of the contest with his technical boxing and frustrated Eubank during the fight.

A second meeting would also give Saunders the opportunity to settle Eubank’s continued objections to the result of their first bout. Saunders has otherwise ruled out returning to pursue younger names, including David Benavidez.

Saunders’ career reached its highest points at middleweight. He won the WBO title from Andy Lee in 2015 and later produced a dominant defence against David Lemieux in 2017, outboxing the Canadian throughout their contest.

He moved on to become a world champion in a second division before facing Alvarez for the WBO super-middleweight title. That fight ended when Saunders was stopped in the eighth round, and he has remained away from the ring since then.

Eubank’s latest outing was a unanimous-decision defeat by Conor Benn in November. He was knocked down twice in that contest, having beaten Benn by the same decision in their first meeting. Saunders now sees a rematch with Eubank as the sole fight capable of bringing him back.