By Keith Idec

The last time Avtandil Khurtsidze came to England, he needed just one flush left hook to stop previously unbeaten Brit Tommy Langford.

That impressive fifth-round victory last month earned Khurtsidze the interim WBO middleweight title and moved him one step closer toward challenging WBO 160-pound champion Billy Joe Saunders. They’ll finally fight July 8 at Copper Box Arena in London, more than a year after Khurtsidze (32-2-2, 22 KOs) became Saunders’ mandatory challenger.

Saunders promised Monday during a press conference in London that, unlike Langford, the moment won’t consume him. If Langford (18-1, 6 KOs) could’ve remained focused, Saunders says he would’ve continued out-boxing the much shorter slugger from Georgia.

“I think the occasion got to Tommy,” said Saunders, who’s 24-0 (12 KOs). “Tommy was looking at the bigger picture. I think Tommy was looking at the bigger picture more than winning on the night. And I think he froze a little bit when it got put in front of him. But I think Tommy was up by four rounds. I think even the judges had him up.

“And Tommy, he’s experienced on the British level. But when you take that next step up, even to a European level, it’s different. And you’ve gotta go through that to know it, and I think Tommy will come back a better fighter. But if there’s a rematch, Tommy will beat him in a rematch.”

The 6-feet Langford, who owned an eight-inch height advantage over Khurtsidze, hadn’t beaten a ranked middleweight contender before they fought. He is also 10 years younger than Khurtsidze, who’s 37.

Khurtsidze stalked Langford during the first four rounds of their scheduled 12-rounder April 22 in Leicester, England. The 27-year-old Langford moved backward throughout the bout, but had boxed effectively enough to offset Khurtsidze’s pressure before Khurtsidze connected with a left hook directly on his chin.

Langford went down just 15 seconds into the fifth round. Once he got up, referee Phil Edwards determined he was unfit to continue.

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