Billy Joe Saunders has had his suspension lifted but has been fined £15,000 after releasing a video that appeared to encourage domestic violence.
Footage showed the 30-year-old, working out on a punchbag in his garage. In the video, Saunders talked about how to react if “your old woman is giving you mouth” and “she’s coming at you, spitting a bit of venom in your face.”
The boxer talked about how to “hit her on the chin” and then “finish her off” as he demonstrated on the punch bag.
Following a fierce backlash on social media, Saunders apologised if he “offended any women”.
“I would never condone domestic violence and if I saw a man touch a woman, I would smash him to pieces myself,” Saunders said in a post on Twitter.
“I have a Daughter and if a man laid a finger on her it would not end well. Apologies if I offended any women stay blessed x.”
Saunders told Sky Sports that he made "a silly mistake", his promoter Eddie Hearn described the social media video as "idiotic" and "unacceptable."
“He's a really good kid, with a really good heart. He does a lot for the community, he does a lot for charity, but every now and again he does the most stupid things,” said Hearn.
“The world has changed and he realised about all kinds of different things, about how you need to treat people.
"It's one step forward, four steps back with Billy Joe Saunders and it is frustrating.
"He's got this mentality where it's me against the world. Sometimes you can have a conversation with him and say 'Bill, what are you doing?' And sometimes that can make it worse. I leave him alone now and when I talk to him, I will be telling him, 'you're a prat,' what are you doing?
"I can only tell you; he does have a good heart, he didn't mean anything in the video, but you just can't do it, especially when you're in your position. 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.
"Thinking you're having a laugh, or not having a laugh, young people are watching that video. People who are in abusive relationships are watching that video. You cannot do it, it's unacceptable."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv1V-c_GIHs
Saunders' licence was immediately withdrawn by the British Boxing Board of Control, which found him guilty of misconduct at Wednesday's hearing. The board has also ordered that Saunders fine be donated to charity.
This is not the first time Saunders has been in deep water with the British Boxing Board of Control.
In September 2018, Saunders was fined £100,000 after another social media video was released where he encouraged a woman to perform a sex act in exchange for £150 worth of drugs.
Sandra Horley, chief executive of national domestic abuse charity Refuge, said at the time Saunders' conduct was "as dangerous as it is shocking."
Following the backlash from his video, Saunders announced he would donate £25,000 to a domestic violence charity.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
