Billy Joe Saunders, who is the WBO middleweight champion, has suffered an injury and his defense of that title against Martin Murray has officially been postponed.

The fight was originally scheduled to be on April 14th at the O2 Arena in London, but now with Saunders hurting his hand, the fight will now be moved to June 23rd.

Saunders – who last defended the title on December 16th 2017 against David Lemieux – was set to have his fourth defense of the belt in April with aspirations of fighting the winner of the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin fight which will take place on May 5th. Now with this hand injury that was suffered during training, the plan that Saunders had to face the winner of Canelo-Golovkin II will now be put on hold.

Saunders was disappointed by the news, and by way of his promotional company he expressed his disappointment through the media in England.

“I’m gutted for Martin and I’m gutted for the fans,” said Saunders. “I felt my hand go during a session this week and sought medical advice immediately. Unfortunately I’ve been told that I can’t punch anything for four weeks so we’ve been left with no choice but to withdraw from the date.

“I’d like to thank my promoter Frank Warren for quickly sorting a new date for the fight. My trainer Dominic Ingle will make sure that I’m fit and prepared to put on another show on June 23rd.”