Billy Joe Saunders vs. Artur Akavov: Fight Time, Date, Live-Stream and TV Info

Billy Joe Saunders belatedly makes the first defence of his WBO middleweight title when he faces Artur Akavov on Saturday.

Saunders (23-0, 12 KOs) hasn’t been seen in a ring since he wrested the belt away from Andy Lee with a split-decision, points win in Manchester, England, just shy of a year ago.

A fight against Max Bursak bit the dust in April when the champion suffered a wrist injury in training, while the clash with Akavov (16-1, 7 KOs) has been postponed three times.

Now Saunders is finally, finally, set to return to action. It is fair to say the Lagoon Leisure Centre in Paisley, Scotland, is not quite the location you’d expect for a defence of a major title, but needs must.

The card also includes appearances from former flyweight world champion Paul Butler, who faces Alexander Cazares at bantamweight, and Jack Catterall, with the unbeaten super lightweight defending his WBO Inter-Contintental crown against Diego Gonzalo Luque.

Saunders, though, is undoubtedly the main attraction.

When: Saturday, December 3, 10 p.m. GMT (5 p.m. ET)

Where: Lagoon Leisure Centre, Paisley, Scotland

TV: BoxNation (UK)

Live stream: BoxNation (UK)

Timely Reminder

Dave Thompson/Getty Images

Saunders frustrates and delights in equal measure. He won the British, Commonwealth and European titles before becoming a world champion and, at the age of 27, should now be entering his prime.

And yet, 2016 has seen his career stuck in neutral. No one should complain about the Bursak bout being cancelled, considering the Ukrainian barely deserved to be in a world-title fight.

Akavov hardly sets the pulses rating either, but things could have been vastly different for Saunders, who can dazzle for periods of a fight before frustratingly taking spells off.

A money-spinning showdown with Gennady Golovkin appeared in the pipeline at the start of the year, only for negotiations to break down over money.

Then, in August, Saunders was lined up to fight on the undercard to Saul Alvarez’s clash with English super welterweight Liam Smith in Dallas, Texas.

The appearance was seen as a pre-cursor to facing Canelo, only for that plan to be scrapped when Saunders shot down the three names mentioned as potential opponents, according to ESPN's Dan Rafael. Gabriel Rosado, Curtis Stevens and Willie Monroe Jr. were all rejected, despite being better options than Akavov.

The British boxing audience would welcome a rematch with Chris Eubank Jr. The domestic rivals met in 2014, with Saunders edging a see-saw contest on points. However, the two sides seem no closer to coming together on a deal to do it all over again, despite the demand for a second meeting.

Golovkin, however, remains the top target.

Saunders—who has the one middleweight belt GGG is missing to complete the collection—told Glynn Evans of BoxNation.com: "One thing I absolutely guarantee is that I will not worry before I get in the ring like all Golovkin’s previous opponents. I’ll fight till the very last downing. Obviously it’ll take a better performance than I’ve shown yet but I know I’ve got that in me."

First, though, he has to blow away the cobwebs and brush aside Akavov.

It is time for Saunders to provide a reminder of his talents in the ring—and he knows any negotiations for big outings in 2017 will come to an immediate halt if he suffers a shock loss on Scottish soil.

California Dreamin'

A Russian-born southpaw now based in California, Akavov is ranked No. 10 with the WBO.

His high position with the governing body—he's not ranked in the top 15 with any of the rest, per Fightnews.com—is due to his reign as their European champion.

He has won his last two fights on American soil by TKO, stretching his unbeaten run to 11. His solitary defeat came against Oleg Liseev in 2012, when he was knocked down before eventually losing on points.

Yet hunt through his BoxRec page and you won’t find any notable names.

British fans may recognise Ivan Jukic, a Croatian who failed to make it beyond Round 1 when up against Eubank Jr. and Frank Buglioni—Akavov, meanwhile, had to wait until Round 2 to get the job done.

At the age of 30, Akavov has a record that suggests he’s fortunate to be sharing a ring with Saunders.

The pair were set to fight in Cardiff, Wales, in October until Saunders picked up an injury. Initially rescheduled for November 26 at the same venue, paperwork problems forced not only a further delay, but also a change in location.

Saunders isn't overlooking an opponent nicknamed Wolverine (because of his hair, not due to his enhanced physical capabilities and astonishing powers of recovery like the character from the Marvel comics).

"Nothing comes easy in boxing and I'm definitely not taking Akavov for granted," the Englishman told Nick Parkinson of ESPN.co.uk. "He's a strong fighter and very dangerous and if I don't come in 100 per cent then he could cause an upset in my first title defence.”

It would be a huge upset, too. Per Odds Shark, Akavov is a 12-1 shot. That price still seems on the short side, considering the respective CVs of the two boxers in action.

Prediction

Saunders isn't known for producing stoppages. His career knockout ratio is 52 per cent, while a lengthy period of inactivity may mean he needs a few rounds to find his rhythm.

Akavov could, therefore, have a small window of opportunity in the opening stages.

The challenger has no hope of outboxing his rival over the course of 12 rounds, so he must strike early and often with the aim of catching Saunders cold.

However, there seems little chance of Saunders slipping up. Expect him to comfortably retain his title, quite possibly on points if Akavov proves hard to shift, before talk of GGG dominates the immediate aftermath.