Billy Joe Saunders gets past tune-up, ready for title shot vs. Andy Lee on Sept. 19

Andy Lee will defend his WBO middleweight title vs. Billy Joe Saunders on Sept. 29. (Adam Hunger, Paste BN Sports)

Billy Joe Saunders already has a title shot set for Sept. 19 against Andy Lee (the news conference was held last week), but wanted to get a tune-up in to make sure he was ultra prepared.

Fortunately, all went well and Saunders (22-0, 12 KOs) took care of business, scoring a fourth-round stoppage of Yoann Bloyer on Friday in London. Now, he's ready for his first world-title opportunity.

"I was out of the ring for eight months so Bloyer was there to give me a run out and shake off any ring rust," Saunders said. "… I'll be a totally different animal on Sept. 19 in Limerick, just you wait and see."

The WBO middleweight title match-up between Englishman Saunders and Irishman Lee is highly anticipated in Europe, especially in Limerick, which rarely hosts big fights. The bout will be held at Thomond Park Stadium and a sellout is expected.

"I've dreamed of fighting here," Lee said. "As soon as I won the world title I wanted to defend it here. This is a global event and I'm proud to put Limerick on that stage and to bring an event like this to my city is an honor and goes some way to repay the people who have supported me."

Saunders defeated Chris Eubank Jr. in November in an all-action fight to become the WBO's mandatory challenger. The 25-year-old southpaw rose quickly through the ranks, but will be moving up in class with the assignment against Lee.

"A good boxer will always beat a brawler, and I'm the better boxer in the fight, and he'll be relying on his punch, but it won't work for him," Saunders said.

Lee (34-2-1, 24 KOs) battled to a draw against Peter Quillin in April, but the title wasn't on the line after Quillin missed weight. Lee, who scored a sensational knockout of John Jackson last year, will make the first defense of the belt he claimed with a highlight-reel KO of Matt Korobov.