Golovkin could not outbox me, says confident Saunders

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London, December 22: Billy Joe Saunders is adamant the fearsome Gennady Golovkin cannot outbox him and says he is not paying attention to the recent plaudits he has received.

WBO world middleweight champion Saunders put on a masterclass against David Lemieux to retain his belt in Canada earlier this month.

After the bout, Saunders expressed his fear that a brilliant showing will put off the likes of Golovkin and Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez from stepping into the ring with him.

And the 28-year-old says 'GGG' no longer has the skills to outbox him.

Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: "Golovkin's got good power, good pressure, good footwork.

"He's not 28 anymore, he's 35, to stand back and box me would take a lot."

Saunders' performance against Lemieux has been heralded as one of the best British performances abroad, but he is not letting the compliments go to his head.

He added: "I know deep down what performance is there but you know everyone now is 'Billy Joe is this, Billy Joe is the next big thing, he's going to beat Golovkin, he can beat Canelo'.

"Realistically I don't really care because four months ago, before I went to [trainer] Dominic [Ingle] I was a 'washed up bum, who was holding the title hostage.'"

On fighting either Golovkin or Alvarez, he added: "If I box one of them I'd bring out another level in me again."

Source: OPTA