Warwick Crown Court has sentenced Billy Joe Saunders to 15 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, for his part in a mass brawl at a baby shower in November 2021.
The former two-weight world champion, 37, used a beer bottle as a weapon on three occasions, the court heard, and the Daily Mail reported that he also punched multiple people. Saunders was one of nine people involved in the violence at Poppy’s Club in Bulkington. Witnesses said he had been drinking heavily.
The court heard a fight between two people earlier in the evening flared up again after midnight. During the melee, one man was stabbed through the hand with a flick-knife, and another man was allegedly seen with a gun.
Judge Thomas Rochford told Saunders he was involved at a “more serious level than three of those with you today” because he used a bottle. The judge did accept that Saunders did not join in at the outset and only got involved a little later. He added that a professional boxer should be able to manage his feelings in a way others can’t.
The defence argued that Saunders’ life spiralled after his loss to Canelo Alvarez in May 2021. Alvarez stopped him at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, and Saunders has not fought since.
Along with the suspended sentence, Saunders was ordered to pay £1,000 in fines and £1,000 in costs, and to complete 200 hours of community service.
The sentencing arrives about five weeks after Saunders told talkSPORT he was thinking about a comeback, saying he did not want to retire on a loss. It is also his second court case in just over a year. Last September, Saunders was sentenced at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court for hare coursing, receiving 60 hours of unpaid work and a five-year ban on keeping dogs.
