Frank Warren: BJ Saunders seeking mutli-million dollar damages and Floyd Mayweather will fight again
Billy Joe Saunders legal appeal is in the process of being lodged by our lawyers. The Massachusetts State Athletic Commission is appointed by the State, so well make our appeal there and then simultaneously file for losses and damages for their baffling decision.
Their decision is totally against their own guidelines for anti-doping. Its a process, and this is whats so annoying about the whole thing, it could take a year to resolve this. Court cases, especially in the USA, often drag on, and it is unfair to Billy, but just how it is.
What annoys me is the positive test came back from VADA, the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency, back in August. You would have thought, as a matter of priority, the MSAC would have held the hearing immediately as Billy was due to fight on 20 October in Boston.
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Billy wasnt at the hearing, it was all done by telephone link, so they could have dealt with it much earlier. Their delay should have helped them make the right decision as Billy had no adverse findings in his next three tests so the explanation, even endorsed by VADA, was clearly genuine.
Had they not dragged their heels, then we would have been in a position to appeal, and perhaps even save the fight. But ten days before the fight, Billy and I were in a bad position. He was training for the fight and now that work is wasted.
The MSAC handled the situation amateurishly, in my opinion. Now the fight is off, and Billy felt obliged to the WBO to relinquish the title because he didnt want hold up the division. Losing the title will also figure into the substantial losses and damages hes claiming for.
Were seeking a multi-million dollar compensation figure and with the mandatory out of the way Billy could have had had paydays against the likes of GGG and Canelo Alvarez, and all this has been lost over a simple decongestant nasal spray.
Im meeting with Billy next week and well make a decision about what to do then. Hes not suspended from boxing, he can still fight. The British Boxing Board of Control and UK Anti-Doping went public in stating he had committed no offence under the globally recognized World Anti-Doing Agency (WADA). Despite this, Billy said he didnt want to fight before his name was cleared, but I certainly dont want him out of action for a year or more.
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Boxing is a young mans game and he cant sit out his prime years. Hes licenced by the BBBofC and is free to fight. It depends where he is mentally, of course, but in an ideal world hell box before Christmas.
Saunders and the MSAC timline
Aug: Saunders tested positive for oxilofrine in a VADA test
Oxilofrine only banned in-competition under UK governing bodies
9 Oct: MSAC denied Saunders boxing licence
Saunders vs Demetrious Andrade on 20 Oct cancelled
11 Oct: Saunders relinquished WBO title
WBO to recommend six-month ban
Saunders not serving a ban of any kind
Bill is angry, very, very angry and rightly so. He feels hes been played and none of this makes any sense. He passed two VADA tests, and every UKAD or WADA test he has undertaken as an amateur or professional.
The results of the VADA adverse test proves he took a nasal spray, but unlike WADA, it seems every substance is on VADAs banned list. The problem is, they have no disciplinary process, no in-competition or out-of-competition differential lists and all they do is report their findings to commissions bodies with little or none of the expertise they possess in this scientific and complex subject.
We voluntarily signed up to VADA, and I have no problem with that providing the regulatory and governing bodies adhere to their own policies. Massachusetts policy says they are governed by US Ant-Doping Agency, which is affiliated to WADA and is the US equivalent version of UKAD, so Bill should have been licensed unquestionably, but for whatever reason they chose to ignore their own mantra.
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I wont be an apologist for Billy Joe Saunders because hes done some really stupid and hurtful things, and hes paid for that with a huge fine. But that shouldnt have any impact on whether hes a cheat or not. Hes not a drug cheat. He is the victim of the MSACs hypocrisy and ignorance.
Canelo joins DAZN, but Americans will still buy PPV
Im not surprised Canelo Alvarez has gone to DAZN after HBO pulled out of boxing. DAZN need subscribers and youve got to think Canelo will be the main guy to start attracting subscribers to the platform now.
I think Floyd Mayweather made an interesting comment about the Canelo-DAZN deal. Mayweather pointed out Canelo signed for $30million a fight, but he can get $300m a fight. And that money is generated through pay-per-view.
DAZNs subscription price is $10 per month and you have to get a lot of people to watch it if youre looking to make those Mayweather numbers. Id be interested to see if Mayweather fights again, which I think he will, whether he goes pay-per-view or streaming. I think hell go pay-per-view.
Its premature to say pay-per-view in America is dying, because theres a market there and people will pay for good fights. The maths will have to add up for DAZN. At HBO Canelo had a million PPV buys at $100, so DAZN have got to find ten million people to buy their $10 subscription to match that.
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Can they do that? Its a big, big call and Im fascinated by it. DAZN and Len Blavatnik have deep pockets and theyve put their money in the market, and theyll soon know if its money well spent.
Yarde on cusp of world title shot
Anthony Yarde is back in action and Im excited to see how far hes come. Its another test for him and Im hoping well be in a position next year where hell be in a world title fight. Were looking for a world title fight for him in 2019, but hes got to come through against Walter Gabriel Sequeira.
All big punchers get into a situation where they cant knock somebody over and I want to see Anthonys plan B. I dont know if Sequeria can test him, because every time Anthony has connected on an opponent the fight has gone out of them.
There are questions to be answered, but at the moment Anthonys shown hes a tremendous fighter. He could have been in with Artur Beterbiev who just beat Callum Johnson. Johnson had Beterbiev down in the second round, and if Johnson could do that to him then Anthony definitely could. Theres so many champions now at light heavyweight. WBA have Dmitry Bivol, WBC have Adonis Stevenson, IBF have Beterbiev and WBO have Eleider Alvarez. The rematch between Alvarez and Kovalev will shake things up again. Theres a lot of options.
Gary Corcoran and Johnny Garton are also in action on the Brentwood show. Thats a good fight for the fans. Corcoran comes to fight and I think itll be exciting, could be a war. I like that fight, but theres a fight down the card that Im really interested in, Umar Sadiq vs Zak Chelli. Theyve only had a couple fights between them, but its become a little battle for whos going to be the next big thing. Umar is a smooth guy, and the other guy is a big puncher. If Umar can fight how he talks, then he can be the whole package.
Fury flying in America
Tyson Fury wanted to go America. Hes in a proper training camp out in Big Bear in California, and its boxing, boxing, boxing. He was in a very good frame of mind last time I spoke to him. By the time the fight comes round, hell be right on their time zone. Weve got four or five good sparring partners for him including Joe Joyce. Tysons a happy chap right now. There is no doubt that these are the best sparring partners hes had since his comeback. Theres great reports coming from Tysons own sparring partners about him, especially his fitness level.
I want Tyson focused and Big Bear can get him focused. The fight has caught fire in America and a lot of that is down to Tyson and his promotional skills. Were hoping for some serious pay-per-view figures in the US, and over here Ill be very disappointed if we dont hit seven figures. Carl Frampton and Josh Warrington will be our first domestic fight on BT Boxing box office, but Ill be very disappointed if Dillian Whyte fights on the same night. Im not sure they will go ahead with that date, but no one gains from that. All itll do is split an audience. It will affect both parties, and more importantly it will be the fans who end up suffering.
Conor McGregor
Obviously no one wants see what happened at UFC 229, but I think theres been a slight overreaction to what happened. UFC can be a little WWE sometimes, but the passions and vitriol in any sport can spill over. God forbid if something serious had happened to anyone, then MMA would have a lot to answer for. But Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov will get heavily fined and they can go from there. I dont blame the UFC for the way they promoted it, because that whole brawl stemmed from McGregor attacking that bus.
I dont know whether that was a PR stunt to start with, but by the end of it McGregor was in a lot of trouble. At the end of the day, it takes away what from happened in that fight and thats a real shame for the UFC. McGregors big homecoming was stopped by Nurmagomedov, it should have been a great moment for him. Im not a fan of MMA personally, but an incident like this should not tarnish the whole sport, just the individuals involved. Its up to the UFC to police it and deal with it, and Im quite sure they will.
MORE: Tony Bellew: Billy Joe Saunders is no drugs cheat
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