By Keith Idec

At least Billy Joe Saunders was honest about what has happened to his career since he won a middleweight title nearly a year ago.

The trash-talking WBO middleweight champion has been hard on himself since his sub-par performance Saturday against Artur Akavov in Paisley, Scotland. Saunders defeated Russia’s Akavov by unanimous decision (116-112, 116-113, 115-113), despite starting slowly and looking lethargic during much of the 12-round fight, his first defense of the 160-pound crown he won from Irishman Andy Lee last December 19.

The Hatfield, England, native’s lackluster effort came without his usual trainer, Jimmy Tibbs, in his corner. The 27-year-old Saunders (24-0, 12 KOs) declined to explain Tibbs’ absence, but gave himself a “zero” on a 1-to-10 scale following a near one-year layoff, much of which was spent calling out his division’s best fighter, Gennady Golovkin, and battling injuries.

“2016 has just been a bad year for me,” Saunders told the Daily Mail of London. “A year out doing absolutely nothing, just losing weight for the last six months, then coming back and fighting. No good.

“I had a bad year. I picked up a few injuries, which put me back, and by the time I looked around I was 15 stone [210 pounds]. I got the weight off. The positive I have got to take from Saturday is you have a fighter who came in and gave his absolute all. He is not going to get any better than that, and I was on my lowest and still won. That’s the only positive.”

The 30-year-old Akavov (16-2, 7 KOs), who resides in Brooklyn, was an unproven, optional opponent who was supposed to help Saunders get in some work before pursuing a bigger fight early in 2017. The fellow southpaw instead troubled a sluggish Saunders, who dropped Lee (34-3-1, 24 KOs) twice in the third round on his way to winning a majority decision last year in Manchester.

“There is winning and there is winning,” Saunders. “I like to box well and win. I just should have been getting rid of him sharpish. I stunk the place out. I am as truthful as they come. If I see another world champion with that performance I would say the same. I will say the same with me. I tell the truth. That doesn’t belong in any top 10, and I am world champion.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.