Billy Joe Saunders almost clashed with Deontay Wilder in a Nandos in Belfast ahead of Wilder’s world title bout with Tyson Fury.
Tyson Fury was set to face Francesco Pianeta in Belfast in 2018, with world champion Deontay Wilder in attendance for the fight, as the pair would meet in the ring themselves just four months later.
Before Fury’s fight with Pianeta, though, Fury’s friend and fellow boxer, Billy Joe Saunders, who says he knows why Chris Eubank Sr. isn’t involved in his son’s fight with Conor Benn, almost brawled with Wilder himself in a popular fast-food restaurant.
Billy Joe Saunders chased out of chicken shop by an angry Deontay Wilder
Ahead of the fight, Saunders and Wilder, who may be in line to face Francis Ngannou next, found themselves eating at the same restaurant in Belfast – Nandos.
Saunders reportedly taunted Wilder, throwing chicken at him from across the restaurant. The pair also had a heated verbal exchange, where Wilder seemed to question some sort of comment Saunders had made about him, which Saunders admitted to before the altercation got heated and he was forced to flee.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Saunders said: “The chicken was very cold I was flinging it about at people. It hit a certain American and he wasn’t too happy about it.”
Billy Joe Saunders claimed Deontay Wilder owes him for the chicken he didn’t get to eat
The pair did squash their beef, meeting at the venue ahead of Fury’s fight. Wilder, who began boxing to take care of his daughter’s medical bills, put his arm around Saunders, stating:
“All fun baby, all fun. […] I’m gonna punish Tyson Fury for Billy Joe, but it’s all love though.”
Saunders joked with ‘The Bronze Bomber’, saying:
“He owes me thirty quid for my Nandos because I didn’t get to eat it, so I went to bed starving last night.”
Saunders was the WBO middleweight world champion at the time, a title he held after defeating David Lemiuex. He also held the WBO super middleweight title later on but lost it in his sole career defeat to Canelo Alvarez in 2021. Saunders hasn’t fought since.
Fury and Wilder went on to have a thrilling trilogy, with Fury stopping Wilder twice in the fights following their draw.