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BILLY JOE Saunders is on a double mission to win the world super middleweight title and prove that the shocking image of the travelling community created by TV hit My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding is nonsense.
Beijing Olympian Saunders, a born-and-bred Romany gypsy, has clocked up seven straight wins since turning pro two years ago and faces Turgay Uzun at London’s York Hall on Saturday hoping to underline his rich amateur promise in the paid ranks.
Saunders has recently moved out of his caravan into a bungalow, but it is still on the same site in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, he has called home all his life.
“I’m incredibly proud of my ancestry, of where I came from and where I was born,” he said. “I have Romany blood in me and I have been brought up to respect my elders and to live life as well as I can.
“The image portrayed in My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding is terrible because it paints all the travelling community with the same brush. It’s like saying all the people who live in tough estates in London are criminals. It’s just bull.
“People, often young girls, go on TV and they start to show off. They are egged on to say something as outrageous as they can because the producers love that sort of thing.
It’s like saying all the people who live in tough estates in London are criminals
Billy Joe Saunders
“To be honest, it has given travellers a really bad name and it paints a terrible picture of what life is like. It could not be further from the truth. I grew up with a healthy respect for people and most travellers are exactly the same. I am annoyed that viewers watch things like My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding and believe it is true of all travellers. It isn’t. All the girls are ‘slappers’ and the blokes drive around in £50,000 cars. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
Saunders reached the second round in Beijing before losing to Carlos Banteaux Saurez, the world amateur silver medallist – a case, he believes, of just plain bad luck.
“I beat the fighter I lost to six weeks before the Olympics, but on the day I wasn’t good enough, simple as that. Since turning pro, I have knocked over seven opponents and the kid I have got on Saturday is another decent boxer.
“Since I first walked into a gym at the age of five, boxing is all I have wanted to do. Nothing else interested me.
“I’m one of the lucky ones because I love what I do and I’m under a trainer, Jimmy Tibbs, who has been there, seen it and done it. He is a brilliant coach, the best.
“He never accepts anything less than 100 per cent effort which is exactly what I need. I like being pushed by Jimmy because he knows, and I know, that I can go all the way.” Saunders, 21, certainly has boxing in his blood as his great-grandfather is Absolom Beeney, the most famous Romany bare-knuckle champion in history, and his father Tom was also a decent amateur.
“My great-grandad is 99 years of age now, but he would still fancy his chances against me,” he said. “He first fought in the old boxing booths at circuses at the age of 13. What an incredible life he has had. He loves his boxing and he is convinced I am going to make it. So am I.
“I have only fought twice in the past year because I broke my knuckle and the operation I had on it wasn’t successful, but I am back now.”
Next Friday sees the ‘rematch’ between ‘Marvellous’ Marvin Hagler and Leicester’s legendary former European champion Tony Sibson.
The pair have not met since trading blows for the world middleweight title in 1983, a clash which Hagler won inside six rounds.
Hagler is the main speaker at a sporting dinner at Villa Park, where he will meet Sibson for the first time since their showdown 28 years ago and discuss his remarkable career. Hagler said: “I am delighted to be returning to the Midlands for the first time in seven years and I cannot wait to meet Tony Sibson again. It is going to be a great occasion. ”
Also in attendance will be former world champion Richie Woodhall, Wayne Elcock, Rendall Munroe and Micky Cantwell.
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