This Billy Joe Saunders press conference is up there for one of the more comical moments in recent boxing history.

Billy Joe Saunders finally gets a chance to defend his WBO middleweight title again when he takes on Georgian Avtandil Khurtsidze on the 8th of July at the Copperbox Arena in London.

This comes after what he would surely even admit was a sub par performance back in December when he scored a unanimous points decision against Artur Akavov.

It was a far cry from the usually razor sharp, skillful south paw operator that most have come accustomed to seeing, but he’ll have a chance to get back into the groove soon against a man he’s calling ‘Danny Devito’.

The joke on Saunders’ part is to do with his opponent’s small stature. The Englishman showed today he is more than willing to have fun with him in the build-up to this one.

Saunders has always been a free flowing spirit, happy to speak his mind and be himself. Although he took that to a more unusual level today when he reached out to the surprise of those in attendance to give his up coming opponent a big hug.

Not the usual behavior associated with professional fighters, of course, but it drew a healthy laugh from those in attendance for it’s novelty. Here’s the moment it happened via IFL TV YouTube (hat tip and credit):