The Saunders vs Monroe full fight report round by round from the WBO middleweight world title fight in London.

Saunders got off the quicker of the two in round one, working well behind the jab in a battle of the southpaws.

Round 2 proved to be a fairly close three minutes, Monroe slightly waking up at this point after a slow opener at the Copperbox tonight.

Saunders upped his game considerably towards the end of round three however, almost bullying Monroe with the American’s corner complaining of punches behind the back of the head.

A noticeable cut opened above the right eye of Saunders by the end of the 4th round which was caused by a clash of heads.

Saunders appeared to throw some sort of elbow in the 5th round replays showed.

At the half way stage Saunders was in control of the bout, but the cut was a continuing concern for him and his corner.

As the second half of the bout progressed, so did Saunders’ work rate.

Saunders started to unload bombs at the end of round 8 on Monroe with the American up against the ropes. The referee took a look at the American but let the fight continue.

Saunders was countering well by this point.

The champion was far more positive than Monroe Jr by the end of the 9th — the American on the back foot being very negative in his tactics.

More of the same followed in round 10. How Monroe thought he could win he fight boxing like this on the road seemed strange.

Monroe did slightly better in the 11th round, possibly edging an uneventful round in truth. Monroe also followed up the 11th with a much better 12th.

Upping the tempo but it proved too little too late. He needed to gamble and take risks earlier.

The final scorecards read out as a unanimous points win for WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders who improved his record to 25-0-12KO.