WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders (24-0, 12 KOs) who was coming off a year-long layoff, won a very unimpressive twelve round unanimous decision over unknown Artur Akavov (16-2, 7 KOs) on Saturday night at the Paisley Lagoon Centre in Glasgow, Scotland.

In his first title defense, Saunders failed to impress as Akavov seemingly was competitive in the whole fight with some even thinking Akavov might have won. It was not the performance one would hope from someone bearing the world champion moniker. The judges saw the bout 116-113, 116-112, 115-113.