Fourteen months ago they were pals on the GB Olympic boxing squad battling for medals in  Beijing, sharing the same surname and subsequently the ignominy of returning home early, their exits clouded by controversy.

Since then the careers of the unrelated Saunders boys – light-welter  Bradley and welter Billy Joe – have taken sharply different turns.

Billy Joe, the "Caravan Kid" from Hertfordshire, signed a big money deal with promoter Frank Warren after being given a slap on the wrist from the Amateur Boxing Association of England (ABAE) for allegedly "lewd behaviour" in a pre-Games incident, and makes his fourth paid appearance at London’s York Hall on Friday.

Durham’s Bradley was castigated in the media after (like Billy Joe), losing a second round contest and then suggesting he was relieved to be leaving  the Games because he was homesick. So stinging was some of the criticism of remarks he insists were misinterpreted that he might have been excused for tossing headguard and vest into the spit bucket and following Billy Joe, James DeGale, Tony Jeffries, Joe Murray, David Price and Frankie Gavin into the prize ring.

Instead he pledged loyalty to GB, one of only two of the original eight Olympians to stay amateur, alongside flyweight Khalid Yafai, after the farcical sacking of coach Terry Edwards.

What followed, he says has been a year from hell. His home was burgled, and then as result of an anonymous call he spent four months on police bail after a jar of white powder was found in his back yard. "Olympic boxer in drugs bust" screamed the headlines.

Saunders, who always claimed he had been set up, though he had no idea by whom or why, eventually had his name cleared when the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the case.

He thought his nightmares were over, and back in the ring he proved he was no loser, winning 14 bouts in succession, including a defeat of the Russian double Olympic champion Alexei Tischchenko. Saunders was strongly fancied to follow Gavin as a world champion in Milan in August but broke a thumb in an exhibition bout, missing the Championships from which GB returned empty-handed.

Just when he was getting over that he slipped and fell last week, again breaking a hand that two years ago had threatened his  Olympic berth when it needed two metal plates and four pins inserted after a training fracture.

Saunders (pictured) is now determined to get fit for the upcoming international against the United States, and his recovery is vital as he is pivotal in Britain’s quest for medals in 2012.

By then the other Saunders may have become a professional world champion and stashed a million or two in  the bank, a thought that must have crossed Bradley’s mind as he wrestles with the vagaries of fortune.

Of course he may have the opportunity to earn a bob two himself now that the game is becoming pro-am with the introduction of the revolutionary World Series of Boxing which enables boxers to to take part in a global team tournament, offering three year contracts and substantial prize money without the loss of Olympic eligibility.

So keen are the newly-constituted British Amateur Boxing Association (BABA) to get a lucrative slice of this action that the Olympic super-heavyweight bronze medalist David Price was even offered the chance to return to the amateur ranks and become part of the GB team again even though he had fought professionally since Beijing. However he has preferred to sign a new deal with promoter Frank Maloney, who is reviving the pro game in the North-East.

Saunders, 23, would be a considerable draw in his native region and he continues to attract pro offers. The BABA must hope he can resist them because Britain can ill afford to lose a competitor of his calibre before 2012.

Indeed, these are vexing times for British amateur boxing. We hear of some unrest among the elite squad following the departure of performance director Kevin Hickey only eight months after being brought back to the sharp end after 20 years out of the game. He admitted the job, with responsibilities which now include the supervision and development of women’s boxing, was too much for him at 67.

UK Sport, the cash dispensers for Olympic preparation, have distributed a confidential questionnaire among top competitors all sports seeking views on the progress towards 2012. Those of some of of the Sheffield-based boxing squad may be interesting. Facilities and funding have never been better, and there is certainly exciting talent to be nurtured, but there are said to be concerns that the revamped coaching set-up is not as progressive or productive as it was under the popular if autocratic Edwards. There are murmurings that some in the sport want him re-instated, either as national coach until 2012 or in a mentoring role. Alas, such a move seems highly unlikely in the current turbulence.

Last week insidethegames reported exclusively that the Edwards, who also doubled as performance director, reached an out-of-court settlement with his then employers, the ABAE, over an allegation that that knew bonuses promised to the Olympic medalists would not be paid. No figure was revealed but according to an ABA source they case has cost around £80,000, and the financially-stricken ABA have yet to settle formally with the boxers, who are suing for their missing readies.

Apparently there were angry exchanges at the recent ABA annual meeting, at which some members were prevented asking questions, and approaches have been made to the sports minister, Gerry Sutcliffe, to look into the running of body, which could be politically embarrassing as it is presided over by his predecessor, Richard Caborn.

All of which is an unhealthy distraction to the likes of Brad Saunders and the boxers focusing on the fight to get Olympic medals in the ring. They do not deserve to be counter-punched by the in-fighting out of it.
 

Alan Hubbard is a sports columnist and boxing correspondent of The Independent on Sunday, and a former sports editor of The Observer. He has covered 11 summer Olympics