Looking fit and healthy, WBO super middleweight titleholder Billy Joe Saunders made the trip to Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, for today’s MTK Global show, and after the Oubaali-Villanueva fight, appeared in the ring to call out Gennadiy Golovkin for a fight later this year.

“I want to fight their man Golovkin here. He’s a great champion, he’s a brilliant fighter. I’d love the opportunity to fight him in his hometown,” Saunders said.

With news that Saunders won’t be facing fellow super middleweight titleholder Callum Smith next, he wants a big fight, and GGG would certainly be one.

“I’m going to sit down with my management and promoter and go from there. I’m available and I’d love to fight here. Golovkin, I’m calling you out in your home country. I’d like to give the fans the fight they deserve, me and Golovkin.”

Saunders (28-0, 13 KO) won the vacant WBO 168-pound belt on May 18, beating non-contender Shefat Isufi at Lamex Stadium in Stevenage, England. The former middleweight titleholder has seemingly re-dedicated himself to the sport under the guidance of trainer Ben Davison, and is in search of something big. He’s said he can still fight at 160 for the right opportunity, but Golovkin did fight at a 164-pound catchweight last time out, too, so maybe there’s a way to do it with Saunders’ belt on the line.

The biggest problem, in theory, would be the fact that GGG is signed exclusively to fight on DAZN, while Saunders, by virtue of being with Frank Warren and MTK Global, is an ESPN fighter in the States. That could surely be worked around for the right deal, but the workaround surely would have to be that GGG-Saunders would air on DAZN in the States, perhaps with BT Sport getting UK rights for a PPV broadcast. It’s an interesting fight, and right now there doesn’t seem to be anything bigger or better in the works for either man, so no reason to write it off.