Former WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders (27-0, 13 KOs) needs to make a real statement this year, so says his longtime promoter Frank Warren.

Saunders had the performance of his career when he dominated David Lemieux at the end of 2017.

But his 2018 was a complete disaster, with Saunders delaying fights due to injury, failing a drug test, and losing his title due to the controversy.

Saudners is back on May 18th in Stevenage, when he moves up to the super middleweight division to face Shefat Isufi for the WBO interim-title at 168-pounds.

"If Ramirez vacates before then, then it could still be for the world title but, irrespective of that, he needs to get busy. He had a dreadful last year coming off that great win against David Lemieux at the end of 2017. It all turned to sh*t for him. Some of that was down to him and those ridiculous things he was doing on video on social media — although the thing with Massachusetts was diabolical, with him having to vacate his title," Warren told The Mirror.

“But that has all gone now, he can’t worry about the past, he has to move forward, he’s still only young and has done it at every level. I hope he’s more mature now for it because if he’s not, he’s an idiot. His performance against Lemieux was one of the best I’ve seen from a British boxer boxing abroad against a world-class opponent. He was disciplined — and when he gets in the gym he has discipline.

“Bill is one of those guys who has to have a fight. If there’s no fight going on, he has too much time on his hands. But if he can stay focused and do what I believe he can do then he could be one of our best post-War fighters. It’s up to him. He has a fantastic boxing brain, he’s got a great chin, he can punch, he can move — he has it all but he has got to be disciplined.”