Andy Murray told me to f*** off after late night request at Beijing 2008 Olympics, reveals Billy Joe Saunders
BILLY JOE SAUNDERS was told to “f**k off” by Sir Andy Murray after asking him for a cheeky game of FIFA.
The pair were unlikely Team GB team-mates at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, in which the nation took home a total of 51 medals.
Unwinding and not spending every waking moment thinking about their upcoming outing is key for any athlete, let alone those cooped up in the Olympic Village.
Saunders looked to take one of his welterweight matches off his mind one night with a game of FIFA, which he invited Murray to play.
But he was met with a hostile response from the Brit Tennis legend.
“Another example of how immature I was happened in the Olympic Village, where obviously all of the athletes from every sport stay together,” Saunders said during an appearance on Up Front with Simon Jordan.
“One night I knocked on Andy Murray’s door at midnight asking if he wanted to play FIFA, when he had a match the next day.
“That’s how childish I was mentally. Andy basically just told me to f**k off really.
“I can’t remember exactly what was said but it was along those lines.
“It was basically just, ‘What are you doing?’ Then he slammed the door shut.”
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Saunders’ self-confessed “childish mentality” almost saw him kicked off the team before the tournament had even started.
The former WBO super-middleweight champion revealed: “I actually nearly never ended up going to the Olympics.
“I almost got sent home before it started in my training camp.
“It was me and Frankie Gavin and he was struggling to make weight, so we weren’t allowed out of the training camp.
“Me and Frankie decided to steal two jet skis outside of the hotel.
“We thought two people were chasing us when we were using them out at sea, so me and him started doing ‘moonies’ to them.”
Saunders, 34, hasn’t fought since losing his 168lb title to Canelo Alvarez over two years ago but is eyeing a December return to the ring.