BILLY JOE SAUNDERS flew out to Spain this week to step up his preparations for his upcoming world title bout.
Saunders and trainer Jimmy Tibbs are basing themselves at Macklin’s Gym Marbella (MGM) — the home of Matthew Macklin — ahead of the Englishman’s meeting with WBO middleweight world champion Andy Lee at Thomond Park.
With a strong Irish presence at Macklin’s state-of-the-art gym, Saunders is likely to be training alongside plenty of Lee’s fellow countrymen as he aims to dethrone the Limerick native on Shannonside next month.
It’s not the first time Saunders has used Macklin’s facility. The 25-year-old former Olympian also trained there in advance of his career-best win over Chris Eubank Jr. back in November of last year.
“This is a crucial training camp for me and we’re taking no chances, heading into the biggest fight of my career. I wanted total focus with no distractions so coming to the MGM is ideal for me,” said Saunders.
“When we came out for the Eubank fight, everything was perfect here; the climate, facilities, atmosphere… everything was a winning formula and the result showed in my performance. The only thing was the uncertainty of Eubank turning up to fight me, but in the end I happily handed him his first defeat.
“Andy is is a totally different kettle of fish. He’s a good, good fighter who I respect. After all, he’s the world champion and he’s got the world title that I want. There’s no way at all I’m taking him lightly. I’m over-estimating him so there are no surprises on the night.
“But at the end of the day, we’re getting in the ring and having a fight. He’s a proud fighting man and so am I, and there’s going to be no give between us. We both want to win; it comes down to who wants it more on the night.”
Saunders returned to the ring for a tune-up fight just a fortnight ago. He picked apart Yoann Bloyer before stopping the Frenchman in the fourth round at Wembley Arena.
Saunders said: “I’ve got a fantastic team around me. Having Jimmy’s vast knowledge and experience is a key factor to me winning, as he’s been involved in countless world title fights with the greats of British boxing.
“His son Mark is out here looking after my diet, strength and conditioning, plus I’ve got some of the lads from the gym for sparring, with more coming over.
“There’s six weeks of hard, hard training ahead of me now; mountain and beach runs, gym work, sparring, strength work… it’s going to be absolute hell out here but I’m prepared to go through it all for the glory of being crowned world champion at Thomond Park.”
Tickets for the big fight at Thomond Park on 19 September are available on Ticketmaster, priced from €30.
Philly is just a dirtbag
He’s our dirtbag
and you would know with a name like Fred west.
Sure what would you expect from a Dublin knicker! Imagine the out roar if it had been a Tyrone player!
I’ve good time for Donaghy. Of course he said it to the ref mid game as anyone would but after the match he took the defeat like a man and deflated the situation. Philly owes him a pint.
Sure it’s obvious he was!
So if something similar was the happen to a Dublin player next year I assume all the Dublin posters saying to get over it, move on etc will be saying the same thing then? Or will it be a different story when it’s a Dublin player involved?
If 99 out of a 100 players came to me and said “I was eye gouged” I’d fully support them no matter who the played for. But it’s Kieran Donaghy for god sake, he’s a bandit.
I don’t have much time for Donaghy, quite the opposite actually, but that’s not the point. It could have been any player and to suggest people should just get over eye gouging on the field is lunacy. Apart from the outcome, he should have got a red card in an all Ireland final – would he still have an all star and player of the year nomination.
No one will have much sympathy for the nipple cripple king.
Hardly the point, and to see that thuggery rewarded with an all star , does not send the right signals to our young players, ah but who cares? Win at all costs , fill the coffers , twill be grand.
Will some one please think of the children.
the all star was for having oshea donaghy and Cooper in his hip pocket.
Not only should his all star be taking from him Dublin should be stripped off the All Ireland disgrace with all that money they have and and playing in croke park all the time YAWN!!!!
Yawn is right.
I was a bit uneasy when the dubs won in 2011, they were liked by too many out side of Dublin. Thank goodness things are back to normal with the last 2 all Irelands and hopefully we will become even more unpopular over the next few years.
No, no they weren’t.
The more that Dublin win the moaning and whining from the other 31 counties increase ! Long may it last Coybib
This will be an interesting program. It changes nothing, the controversy in these articles will cause more ppl to watch the program. The media is driven by numbers, more readers, viewers and hits equals great advertising income. Regarding the All-Ireland, when one of the best forwards in the game Colm Cooper is back defending and McMahon is up scoring the that says all that needs to said. It’s in the books, there was more to that game than this one controversy.
UP CARLOW!!
Ah god not this again. The reaction to this has been way over the top and McMahon is been unfairly hammered by the media for this. Yes he eye gouged, but things like this happen all the time on a football pitch. He should be banned and waRned for his future discipline.
There is a line and Donaghy had been living in it for his whole career. The one thing about him is that I always thought he was a hard man and not a whinger. Donaghy is the king of the cheap shot off the ball so he has no credibility by going crying to the media.
He didn’t go crying to the media. That is what he said to the ref during the match, and when asked about it afterwards he didn’t say much, basically that only McMahon knows if it was intentional or not. I don’t know how you think saying it to the ref is crying to the media.
Where has Donagh been crying to the media? It’s the media that have kept this story going
That’s just Dubs trying to turn a blind eye to it, by making up things to suit their story
“Things like this happen all the time on a football pitch”
Eh no they don’t. That’s says it all about some dublin fans attitudes to this incident. Please point out some of the many incidences of eye gouging in the championship in the last number of years that you speak of?
I seem to have forgotten them all.
Is this really news? Hasn’t he claimed all along he WAS eye gouged but has said what happens on the pitch stays on the pitch?
So it’s ok then?
Please point out where I said it was ok? I asked why it was news again as we already know Donaghy said he was eye gouged.
Your tone suggests annoyance at the fact that it was brought up again. This would lead us to believe that you’d rather a hush hush approach was taken to this particular incident, possibly because it’s causing negative publicity for Philly mc Mahon and by extension, the team you support.
Personally I think it’s hypocritical for Philly on the one hand to appear in media talking about his business, his upbringing, his family background etc and generating a very high national profile for himself, while on the other hand we are supposed to not talk about his antics on the field, even if it’s eye gouging, but instead sweep it under the carpet as “old news”.
Your tone suggests that anything negative that a Dublin player is involved in you will take it Personally ! What’s wrong with any Amateur sportsperson trying to raise their profile ? I think fair play to them ! Hard teams win all Irelands ie Meath , Tyrone Kerry Armagh Dublin the only team that I can remember who played it totally clean was Galway a few years back .
The point I was making was that the headline here emphasising the word ‘WAS’ makes it look like Donaghy had previously claimed he was never eye gouged and that this documentary is going to make a big revelation that he says he was, when all along he’s clearly said he was. Nowhere am i suggesting it was ok so less of the accusations thanks.
Move on please
Donaghy is as much a dirt bag as any player I watched his antics from behind the goal on all Ireland day.
goes around the pitch like a drunk looking for a fight does the star.
that was just two lads competing that’s all well said David.
I agree it Is disgraceful but so are some of the people commenting on this saying they want dublins all Ireland taken off of them,like really people,if it was a cork lad or a Galway player (not saying they’d win an all Ireland just using examples) then people would be like “ye it’s a disgrace but don’t make the team suffer”
No one is realistically suggesting that. The incident just leaves a bad taste in the mouth is all
Phil mcmahon a disgrace