BILLY JOE SAUNDERS made a successful defence of his WBO middleweight title as he out-classed David Lemieux in Canada.

The Briton controlled the bout from the start, avoiding any hits from the Canadian in round one as he defended his title by unanimous decision at Place Bell in Quebec.

The defeat is the fourth of Lemieux’s career, who had won each of his four fights since being stopped by unified middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin in 2015.