The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC) have suspended the licence of Billy Joe Saunders.
It follows comments made by the WBO super-middleweight champion on social media pertaining to domestic violence.
Saunders apologised for a video in which he was seen advising men how to hit their partners during the pandemic lockdown.
A brief statement from BBBoC General Secretary Robert Smith reads, "The British Boxing Board of Control having considered comments made by Billy Joe Saunders on social media have suspended his boxer’s licence pending a hearing under the Board’s misconduct regulation, at a time and venue to be confirmed as soon as possible."
The suspension will have little to no effect, with the BBBoC suspending all boxing in the UK through to the end of May at the earliest due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before the shutdown, Saunders was close to securing a deal to fight Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez.
Saunders was quizzed about the video on Talksport on Monday, claiming, "I looked at it as a bit of a joke at first – I obviously wasn’t thinking right – but looking back at it now I can clearly see the destruction it has caused among the women suffering from domestic violence.
"It was a silly mistake but I didn’t intentionally mean to cause harm to anyone and I certainly wouldn’t promote domestic violence."
Following the reaction to the video, and some dubious responses to critics, Saunders has deleted his Twitter account.
The lockdown associated with the coronavirus pandemic has seen a sharp upturn in the number of cases of domestic violence reported around the world.
A message on behalf of #SUTDA founder @Dontlookback198 and @safelives_. https://t.co/LFgthtxeb6 https://t.co/V84yrWOkIv https://t.co/b45OlTMJZJ pic.twitter.com/pZX9hpW30E
— michael sheen 💙 (@michaelsheen) March 28, 2020
When asked by Talksport's Jim White about what was potentially "funny" about his video, Saunders replied, "My sense of humour is not everyone’s cup of tea.
"I can only take it back and apologise for it; I’ve spoken to my manager and among other things I will be donating £25,000 to support domestic violence charities.
"It is clearly a silly thing to do and I can’t take it back."
Saunders did not specify which charities would be in receipt of his money or how it was broken down.
