WBO super middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders has apologised after a video emerged of him giving advice to men on how to hit their female partners if tempers flared during the coronavirus lockdown.
Footage showed the 30-year-old, who retained his title by beating Argentinian Marcelo Esteban Coceres in a technical knock out in Los Angeles last November, working out on a punch bag in a barn.
During 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 be end well . Apologies if I offended any women stay blessed x”.
Saunders had been scheduled to fight Mexican superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in May, but the contest was postponed due to the pandemic.
Last week, Saunders had posted a video message clarification statement on his social media account after it emerged he made a call to an airline claiming concerns over a potential coronavirus infection.
As a result, coach Ben Davison and fellow boxer Josh Taylor were removed from a flight.
