Bradley Saunders (born 4 February 1986) is a British

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

. As an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History ...

he won a silver medal in the

light welterweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

division at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, ...

, gold at the 2009 EU Championships and bronze at the 2007 World Championships.

Amateur career

Saunders won the British championships in 2006 whilst representing South Durham ABC.. He qualified for the 2007 World championships held in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

and won a bronze medal defeating the likes of local favourite

Javier Molina Javier Molina Casillas (born January 2, 1990) is an American professional boxer. As an amateur, he won the 2007 U.S. National Championships at the age of 17 and represented the United States the following year at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Pe ...

(24:12) and Frenchman

Alexis Vastine Alexis Vastine (17 November 1986 – 9 March 2015) was a French boxer who won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the Light Welterweight division. He also competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics, where he was eliminated in the quarterfina ...

in order to join compatriots Frankie Gavin and bantam Joe Murray on the medal podiums and, in doing so, qualifying for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. In the Olympic tournament Saunders' first round victory was followed with defeat in the second round to former victim

. Following the tournament Saunders made the decision to stay amateur whilst a number of his Team GB colleagues made the move to the professional boxing ranks. In June 2009 Saunders returned to the ring to compete in the European Union championships held in

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, winning gold and beating a fellow former World Championship bronze medallist

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Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

along the way. Just prior to the 2009 World Championships due to be held in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

, Saunders broke his left thumb in a training bout. A potential winner of gold at the event Saunders reflected on the injury by saying "I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason...I'm going to focus totally on 2012. Maybe then I'll look back and be glad this all happened".

World Amateur Championships

*Defeated Boris Katalinic (Croatia) 23-12 *Defeated Gumersindo Carrasco (Argentina) RSCO *Defeated

(United States) 24-12 *Defeated

(France) 30-13 *Lost to

Gennady Kovalev Gennady Gennadiyevich Kovalev (russian: Геннадий Геннадиевич Ковалёв; born 17 May 1983 in Kropotkin, Krasnodar Krai) is a boxer from Russia. Career Southpaw Kovalev won the silver medal at the 2003 World Amateur Boxing ...

(Russia) 8-16

Commonwealth Games 2010

* Defeated Anthony Taylor (New Zealand) * Defeated Yves Ulysse (Canada) in the quarters * Defeated Louis Colin of (Mauritius) in a close scoring semifinal 10-7 * Lost to

Manoj Kumar Harikrishan Goswami (born 24 July 1937), better known by his screen name Manoj Kumar, is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, lyricist and editor who worked in Hindi cinema. He is known for acting and making films with patriotic theme ...

of (India) in the final 2-11

Olympic Games

*Defeated Samuel Kotey Neequaye (Ghana) KO 1 (2:24) *Lost to

(France) 11-7

Professional career

Saunders signed his first professional contract with Frank Warren and made his professional boxing debut on 10 February 2012 against Jason Nesbitt scoring a TKO victory in the 3rd round.

Professional boxing record

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Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcas ...

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Liverpool Olympia The Eventim Olympia (originally the Liverpool Olympia) is a venue in Liverpool, England, situated on West Derby Road next to The Grafton Ballroom. History The Liverpool Olympia was built in 1905 For Moss Empires Ltd by architect Frank Match ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wir ...

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Hull Arena Hull Arena (originally Humberside Ice Arena and known locally as the Hull Ice Arena) is an ice rink, in the city of Kingston upon Hull, England. It has a capacity of 3,750 people. The Hull Arena is also a concert venue, playing host to numer ...

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

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Echo Arena Liverpool Arena, known for sponsorship reasons as the M&S Bank Arena, and previously Echo Arena, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the city centre of Liverpool, England. The venue hosts live music, comedy performances and sporting events, and ...

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Metro Radio Arena The Utilita Arena Newcastle (formerly the Newcastle Arena, Telewest Arena and Metro Radio Arena) is a large indoor arena in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Owned and operated by ASM Global and sponsored by Utilita Energy, it hosts mu ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

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Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Millennium Bridge, The Sage, and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary ...

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London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

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Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500- ...

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Manchester Arena Manchester Arena, currently referred to as the AO Arena for sponsorship reasons, is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights space. The arena has the ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

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Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

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Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

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York Hall The York Hall, officially known as York Hall Leisure Centre, is a multi-purpose indoor arena and leisure complex in Bethnal Green, London, and is situated on Old Ford Road. The building opened in 1929 with a capacity of 1,200 and is now an inte ...

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Personal life

On 25 November 2008 Saunders was questioned by police on suspicion of dealing cocaine after a police sniffer dog found what was alleged to be £1.2m worth of the drug in his back passage. The charges were dropped against the boxer in April 2009 when the police decided not to proceed with the case after being attacked with a machete, with Saunders shouting "do you know who I am, im ronnie pickering".BBC News , No charges for Olympic boxer
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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Bradley 1986 births English male boxers Living people Light-welterweight boxers Sportspeople from Stockton-on-Tees Boxers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers of Great Britain Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Sportspeople from Yorkshire AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists Commonwealth Games medallists in boxing Boxers at the 2010 Commonwealth Games