It promises to be a thrilling fight between the pair, with Saunders (29-0) needing to make a statement after over a year out the ring, when he defeated Marcelo Esteban Coceres by knockout in Los Angeles. Saunders had hoped to agree a blockbuster bout with Canelo Alvarez, however, those plans were wrecked by the pandemic and he needs to impress to leave himself in pole position for a unification fight in 2021.
Murray, a rugged veteran of the world title scene, will be no easy touch, though. The pair have been scheduled to fight twice before, with the bouts being cancelled at late notice due to injuries, and the 38-year-old knows this will be his last attempt to win a world title. He has fallen short, often controversially, in the past and has promised to put everything on the line at the SSE Wembley Arena. Meanwhile, James Tennyson, Lerrone Richards and Shannon Courtenay all feature on the undercard. Follow all the action below:
LERRONE RICHARDS VS TIMO LAINE
Laine is virtually a sitting duck in there, with Richards boasting a size and reach advantage. It’s another dominant round for the Londoner, who is a level above, but it would be good to see him apply some more pressure and look for the knockout.
LERRONE RICHARDS VS TIMO LAINE
A very smooth opening round for Richards, who’s taking his time and peppering Laine with jabs to the head and body.
LERRONE RICHARDS VS TIMO LAINE
And now to the live action! Lerrone Richards, a new signing with Matchroom, takes on the always game Timo Laine. An extremely talented technician, albeit without a recognised knockout punch, Richards is undefeated in 13 fights and boasts an impressive win over Tommy Langford but needs an impressive outing to boost his momentum.
TELEVISED UNDERCARD GETS UNDERWAY
The main section of the undercard is about to get underway in Wembley, but there is some news to bring you from earlier this evening, with Lewis Edmondson defeating John Telford.
COURTENAY MAKES COMEBACK
After a whirlwind rise through the ranks, Shannon Courtenay came unstuck against Rachel Ball during Matchroom’s Fight Camp and lost the first fight of her professional career. Tonight, the comeback trail begins against Dorota Norek.
SAUNDERS HOPING ‘FAT PIG’ DIET DOES NOT COST HIM
It’s no secret that Saunders has often lacked the discipline to stay in shape between fights, with his training camps instead focusing on shedding weight as fast as possible. It has been over a year since he was last in the ring and Murray is well-known for being a rugged, relentless and durable opponent.
Murray recently acknowledged Golovkin as his toughest opponent
SAUNDERS CAREER CLOSELY PURSUED BY CONTROVERSY
Saunders has always been a magnetic and divisive personality, but he has crossed the line and paid a harsh penalty at times in his career. In the piece below, Luke Brown analysed the problems of separating a genius in the ring from the man outside of it:
Saunders may have cost himself the opportunity to fight Canelo Alvarez because of yet another brainless controversy. He has let down both himself and British boxing
SAUNDERS VS MURRAY: UNDERCARD
It promises to be a thrilling night of action at the Wembley Arena, with the likes of James Tennyson, Shannon Courtenay and Lerrone Richards all featuring prior to the main event.
Tennyson just fell short when challenging Tevin Farmer for a world title in 2018 but can put himself in pole position for another shot at glory with victory against Josh O’Reilly tonight.
SAUNDERS DEFENDS WORLD TITLE AGAINST MURRAY
Welcome to The Independent’s live coverage as Billy Joe Saunders defends his WBO super middleweight world title against Martin Murray at Wembley Arena.
