World boxing champ Billy Joe Saunders apologizes after video shows him 'teaching men how to hit women during lockdown'

British world boxing champion Billy Joe Saunders has apologized after footage emerged appearing to show him teaching men how to hit their female partners if tensions flare in lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic.

WBO world super-middleweight champ Saunders, 30, is seen in the footage training with a punchbag in his barn. 

Talking to the camera, the boxer begins by saying: "I just want to make a little video for all you dads, husbands, if you've got girlfriends etc.

"Obviously this Covid-19 thing is getting quite serious and we are isolated in tight spaces.

"If your old woman is giving you mouth and you try to be patient, you try to be calm, but after the seventh day or sixth you're about to explode.

"All of a sudden, she's coming at you, spitting a bit of venom in your face... I don't know what you've done but you've upset her.

"As she's coming in at you and you've lost it, just keep it safe with the hands.

"So as she comes in, she's just about to say something and you explode and hit her on the chin," Saunders says, then hammering the punchbag with a right hand.  

In the footage, also shared by the Mirror, and reportedly obtained from a WhatsApp group, Saunders then goes on to explain how to "finish off" the encounter.  

"At this time she may flash and see white... she's in a state of horror," Saunders continued.

"All of a sudden you dip with that knee and finish her off, that should do the trick," he then adds, landing a vicious left hook on the punchbag.

Saunders in action back in May of 2019. Reuters / Action Images

Numerous groups have warned that domestic violence cases could increase as people find themselves cooped up during social curbs imposed a result of the Covid-19 outbreak. 

And while supposedly tongue-in-cheek, Saunders seems to have preempted the backlash by taking to Twitter to apologize for the clip.

"I would never condone domestic violence and if I saw a man touch a woman I would smash him to pieces myself," the boxer wrote to his 149,000 followers.

"I have a Daughter and if a man laid a finger on her it would be end well . Apologies if I offended any women stay blessed x" 

Saunders, a former middleweight world champion, is undefeated in 29 bouts and is tipped to face Mexican megastar Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez in a money-spinning bout in Las Vegas later this year, should the coronavirus pandemic subside. 

The Brit fighter is a controversial figure, however, having only recently been forced to apologize for appearing to make light of the Covid-19 crisis in an incident involving a friend and a call to an airline.

In 2018, Saunders was fined £100,000 by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) for a video in which he offered a woman drugs in return for performing a sex act.