BILLY JOE SAUNDERS hit back at the snipers criticising him for being on the undercard of a fight between YouTube stars.
Britain’s undefeated two-weight world champion will be a support act for the Saturday night showdown between KSI and Logan Paul.
The rematch between the social-media celebrities, who boast millions of teenage fans, takes place at the Los Angeles Staples Center.
Boxing purists claim it to be a tragic sign of the times that the reigning WBO super-middleweight king Saunders is propping up a ‘glorified white-collar clash’.
Yet Saunders sees it as a chance to show his skills to a huge new audience and hopefully set up a career-defining super-fight against either Canelo Alvarez or Gennady Golovkin.
The 30-year-old reformed bad boy said: “I have always thought that ‘main event’ and ‘chief support’ is bulls***, the best fight of the night steals the show.
“Being told ‘you are top of the bill’ is b******* to me because long before the fight you know your opponent and your purse.
“The rest doesn’t matter as long as you put on a good performance. I made mistakes early in my career but now I want my name out there for the right reasons.
“I want the fights with Canelo, Golovkin and Danny Jacobs.”
The closest the southpaw has come to becoming a viral sensation was when a string of vulgar videos spread online last year, costing him a £100,000 British Boxing Board fine.
Now Saunders is relishing the chance to impress some of the almost 40million online followers the boxing novices have attracted.
The 28-0 ace, who will face Argentine Marcelo Esteban Coceres, 28, said: “I am looking forward to it because it is my American debut. I’m going to put my name out there.
“I can go to LA in front of 20,000 with two guys who got 10million-plus views in just their press conference.
“If I take five or ten per cent of their crowd with a good show then I am establishing my name in America and giving myself a better chance of getting a Golovkin or Canelo.
“You want to call it ‘undercard’, I just know I am on the bill, end of story.”
Source: Read Full Article