‘Andy Murray told me to f*** off when I asked to play FIFA and slammed the door’
Being a teenager at an Olympics Games would be a surreal experience for anyone.
Back in 2008, British boxer Billy Joe Saunders was 18-years-old and heading out to China to compete at the Beijing Olympics. Team GB boasted a host of sporting superstars, with the likes of Chris Hoy, Rebecca Adlington, Bradley Wiggins and Ben Ainslie all winning gold in their respective fields at the 2008 games.
Another huge name to have competed in China was British tennis ace Andy Murray, who at that point in his career had yet to taste major success. While the now three-time Grand Slam winner, and two-time Olympic gold medallist, has mellowed in recent years, back in 2008, Murray was still known for his rather dour, fiery demeanour.
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So, as you can imagine, when Saunders, turned up to his hotel room late at night, on the eve of Murray playing at his first Olympics, the Scotsman reacted badly. Speaking to Simon Jordan on his William Hill 'Up Front With Simon Jordan' podcast, Saunders revealed how his interaction with Murray went down at the Olympic Village, detailing his immaturity and naivety to the former Crystal Palace owner.
"Another example of how immature I was happened in the Olympic Village, where obviously all of the athletes from every sport stay together," began Saunders.
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"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."
And while Murray tried his best to get some sleep that evening, it ultimately proved to be futile. Heading into the 2008 Olympics, Murray was ranked sixth in the world. However, it what was arguably one of the worst defeats of his career, he lost in the first round of the Beijing Olympics to Taiwan's Lu Yen-Hsun, who was ranked 77th in the world at the time.
The time for talking is almost over as KSI and Tommy Fury will bury their rivarly once and for all as they face off in Manchester on Saturday, October 14th. Logan Paul will also be fighting at the event in front of what is expected to be a sell-out crowd.
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Saunders also experienced a disappointing time out in Beijing too. While he beat Turkish fighter Adem Kılıçcı in the first round in welterweight division, he would go on to lose in the second, falling to Carlos Banteux.
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