Billy Joe Saunders ready for new heights after proving his class and character against David Lemieux

Saunders is not a fool and he knows better than anybody that the genius of the Lemieux win might get him a Gennady Golovkin fight - but will it necessarily help him win such a fight?

Saunders retained his WBO middleweight title with the shut-out points win (Getty)

Billy Joe Saunders stood still, raised a glove to shade his eyes from the neon ring lights and peered off into the darkness at the back of the arena in search of the swinging right that that had just missed his chin by about six feet.

It was round nine on Saturday night when Saunders searched for the lost punch during his masterclass against a man the nervous bookies had made a slight favourite; David Lemieux was fighting in front of 8,000 Canadians, just a few miles from his home in Montreal and hoping for his 34th knockout win, most of which have been in the opening two rounds. Oddly, Lemieux looked like a tranquillised and confused elephant at a fake sanctuary in Thailand, a fighter stuck in his own helpless swinging rhythm, unable to avoid the jab and looking more desperate with every second.

Saunders retained his WBO middleweight title with the shut-out points win, but the fight had very little to do with the tiny diamonds sprinkled on the glittering belt and everything to do with accepting a risky fight and boxing live on HBO in America. “Billy came here to send a message and he did send one - loud and clear,” said Frank Warren, the promoter. This was a calculated move, a brave move to get American television exposure and crucially look good at the same time. Saunders had to win well and impress because in this boom there are simply too many quality fighters scrambling for too few major television dates on both sides of the Atlantic.

In the frosty aftermath Lemieux, who seemed transfixed by the Englishman’s movement from the opening bell, was unable to get the right words out and, in frustration, blamed an injury to his left hand in the second round for his loss. The denial was deep and predictable, but Saunders deserved better and perhaps Lemieux will change his tone this week and heap some late Christmas praise on the winner. However, Saunders had been brutal with his tongue before the fight and seemed to sledge Lemieux throughout the mismatch; if Saunders was an American fighter, an unbeaten world champion in the boxing world would be placing false crowns on his head.

There were also a few glorious moments during the post-fight interview when the man from HBO seemed as bemused by what he had witnessed as poor Lemieux. “How did you do it?” he kept asking (he genuinely had no idea how Lemieux had been so easily pacified for twelve rounds) and Saunders looked at him with pity. It will rightly be considered one of the finest boxing displays of the year, a flawless dance with relentless piercing punches from Saunders, who fought with glee in his cruel eyes.

“I have known Billy for a long, long time and that was his best performance,” said Tyson Fury, a ringside guest. “He made a real dangerous fighter look like a novice and he broke his heart - I thought they were going to pull Lemieux out.” I thought the same after about eight rounds when Lemieux started to feel a bit sorry for himself, dropping his head in the corner and looking broken. There are several ways to separate a man from his desire in the ring and not all involve taking heavy punishment; Saunders moved by fractions, connected by centimetres and laughed at Lemieux’s crude replies - it was no shock there was little respect at the end from the loser.


 Saunders made his opponent look like a tranquillised and confused elephant at a fake sanctuary in Thailand 
 (AP)

In 2015 Lemieux was dropped and stopped by Gennady Golovkin - the unbeaten Kazakh and arguably the best boxer in the world right now - in another world title fight, another fight where the fearsome punching but flat-footed Canadian was given a boxing lesson. One of the main reasons, cash aside, Saunders went to Lemieux’s local arena was to rattle Golovkin. “See you, Golovkin, if you agree to fight me you will be punching fresh air just like Lemieux,” Saunders said at the end, which in boxing is close to blasphemy because of Golovkin’s position as a punching deity.

Saunders is not a fool and he knows better than anybody that the genius of the Lemieux win might get him a Golovkin fight but it will not necessarily help him win a Golovkin fight. “Don’t worry, I know how to beat Golovkin,” insisted Saunders. “I’ve got something really special planned for him.” The win put Saunders in a position of fantasy compared to last December when a few hundred bored punters watched him retain his title at a leisure centre in Paisley.