The 24-year-old fighter, who lives on the Holwell Caravan Park, won a unanimous points decision to lift the British and Commonwealth belt triumphantly above his head.
Credit to John Ryder who provided Saunders with his toughest opposition to date, and lived up to his reputation as being recognised as one of the most talented middleweights in British boxing.
Both Saunders and Ryder set the pace early rounds trading blows, with Ryder sticking out several stiff jabs to make Saunders aware of his intentions. Even in the second round both were trading and trying to get the upper hand early on, but it was Saunders who come out on top with countless right hand jabs to the face of Ryder.
Ryder was having more success on the inside of Saunders and landed with a sharp uppercut in the sixth round with Saunders trying to get his jab established and dominate the rest of the fight. I noticed after the fourth round Saunders not using his left hand as much and after speaking with officials after the fight I was told Saunders had suffered an injury in the third round and that was the reason why he stopped using it as much during the middle rounds.
Ryder kept on pressing Saunders throughout the fight, and landed a good solid right to the body of Saunders. The fitness and hard work definitely showed from Ryder and his determination was second to none, he came to win this fight and he showed that he can compete at this level against tough opposition.
In round ten Billy Joe kept Ryder at bay connecting more with his right moving around the ring and taking control of the closing stages of the fight.
At the start of round twelve Ryder come out all guns blazing looking to impress with some quality work and several combination punches towards Saunders, which caused him to hold on but it was Saunders that caught the eye with a fearsome left hook and the double jab combinations that hurt Ryder but it was all left it in the judges hands.
Final scoring from the judges was: 115-113, 115-113 and 115-114 in favour of Billy Joe Saunders.
