By Jake Donovan

Billy Joe Saunders had his shot at snatching up an opportunity to face fellow middleweight titlist Gennady Golovkin. His handlers opted to move in a different direction, but it hasn’t stopped the recently crowned beltholder from pursuing such a fight – or at least suggesting the thought of it to draw additional attention to the one in place.

The unbeaten Brit – who claimed the World Boxing Organization (WBO) middleweight belt with a 12-round decision win over Andy Lee last December – will make his first defense versus Ukraine’s Max Bursak. Their bout takes place April 30 at Copper Box Arena in London, England, with BoxNation to televise in the United Kingdom.

The matchup hasn’t been well-received by the industry, most of whom are cognizant of the fight that could’ve taken place. So far, Saunders hasn’t had much to say about the upcoming defense either, as there is but one middleweight that has remained on his mind from the moment he put a belt around his waist.

“Now I’ve become a world champion I’ve grown in myself and grown in my beliefs,” insists Saunders (23-0, 12KOs), who hopes to parlay such confidence into a future unification bout.

The matchup was discussed with Golovkin and K2 Promotions Managing Director Tom Loeffler even making the trip to England to survey potential venues. As has often been the case whenever the unbeaten knockout artist from Kazakhstan hunts big game, pursuits of showdowns with Alvarez and Saunders were instead met with three middleweight title fights that weren’t on anyone’s radar. Saunders’ first defense versus Bursak (32-4-1, 15KOs) is bookended by an April 23 clash between Golovkin and unbeaten mandatory challenger Dominic Wade, and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in his own first defense of the lineal middleweight crown versus welterweight contender Amir Khan.

Should Alvarez win and have any desire to hold onto his World Boxing Council (WBC) title – which he owns in addition to the lineal championship – his next fight will have to come versus Golovkin. The good news for Saunders is that his wait time won’t be very long. Alvarez has 15 days following the Khan fight to either finalize terms for a mandatory defense versus Golovkin – who is the WBC interim titlist in addition to owning three full belts – or else vacate the title.

Where Saunders would fit in is his role as one of two remaining beltholders in the division. With Gennady’s goal of total middleweight supremacy, talks could eventually pick up where they left off – with the 26-year old British southpaw eager for an in-country superfight.

“Nobody is invincible, you only have to look at Tyson Fury who went over and done (then-World heavyweight champion Wladimir) Klitschko in (Germany),” Saunders points out in professing his belief that he can be the one to take down the man widely regarded as the best middleweight on the planet.

“If I could get Golovkin at Wembley Stadium, which would be a massive fight, I’d show the world I can beat the best.”

The first step once their respective fights are out of the way, is to simply respond the next time such a fight is offered.

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox