Billy Joe Saunders pulls out of Martin Murray bout with hamstring injury

Christian Shimabuku

Billy Joe Saunders pulls out of Martin Murray bout with hamstring injury image

For the second time, Billy Joe Saunders has taken his name out of a Martin Murray showdown.

A frustrated Murray spread the news via an Instagram post on Sunday.

Warning: Post contains NSFW language

Saunders is out because of a hamstring injury. The 28-year-old from the United Kingdom holds a 26-0 career record with 12 knockouts. The WBO middleweight title defense with Murray (36-4-1) was scheduled for June 23 at the O2 Arena in London. 

A hand injury prompted Saunders to postpone the original fight in April. 

Frank Warren, Saunders' promoter, confirmed the news on Twitter and plans to release a statement on Monday. 

A visibly upset Murray didn't hold back on Instagram. 

"It's the second time I've taken myself away from my family and got my body in this condition ready to fight, and it's got to the last minute and it's canceled. I'm obviously gutted but there's nothing I can do," Murray said.

"I just want to apologize to everyone who's bought tickets, booked hotels, booked train fares. Thank you to everybody for the continued support and believing in me.

"My team are continuing to work so hopefully I'll have a new date in the next couple of weeks."

 

Christian Shimabuku