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In the coming weeks, Billy Joe Saunders is expected to be prepared to start light training as he prepares for a ring comeback.
The former middleweight and super-middleweight WBO world title hasn't competed since being defeated by Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.
In May 2021, the Mexican stopped Saunders after eight rounds; he also sustained numerous eye socket fractures.
He has named a fellow former world champion as a possible ideal opponent for his comeback, though he is not seeking an easy touch in his first fight back.
The former WBO super-welterweight champion Liam Smith most recently made headlines in Manchester last month when he defeated Chris Eubank Jr. at the city's AO Arena in just four rounds.
And Saunders would be open to competing against the Liverpudlian.
“If they said ‘do you want to face anyone’ I’d rather face Liam Smith first fight back,” Saunders told iFL TV. “Of course, he’s won. You gotta give him the credit. Forget about the biggest fight. Sometimes, it’s all right to just grab the money, but thank god I’m okay. I can feed my family.”
Saunders earned a career-high payday against ‘Canelo’, a man who ‘Beefy’ was stopped by inside nine rounds back in September 2016, but an all-British tussle between the pair is well on the way to being finalized, it seems, with the seeds beginning to be sewn.
“It’s about, for me, to get in the ring with somebody who’s obviously going to bring something to the table where I question myself and think I’ve got to be on my game,” Saunders added. “Liam Smith, I got to be on my game. Eubank, looking at that, have I got to be on my game? No. You haven’t got to be on your game.”