Billy Joe Saunders has been fined £15,000 by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) after posting a social media video in which he seemingly endorsed domestic violence – although the WBO super-middleweight champion has been cleared to box again.

In the video, Saunders – a two-weight world champion who boasts an unblemished 29-0 professional record – demonstrated to his followers how to hit a woman "on the chin" if she was "giving you mouth" during the UK's coronavirus lockdown back in March.

The 30-year-old told talkSPORT he did not condone domestic abuse in a subsequent apology.

"I said it as a bit of a joke at first. I wasn't obviously thinking," he said.

"It was a silly mistake but I didn’t mean to cause any harm to anyone and I certainly wouldn't promote domestic violence."

However, the BBBofC suspended Saunders' license as it launched an investigation into the matter.

Those proceedings concluded on Wednesday, with the Beijing Olympian found guilty of misconduct.

His fine will be donated to charitable causes.

A BBBofC statement read: "Billy Joe Saunders appeared before stewards of the board on Wednesday, July  22, 2020 due to recent comments made on Social Media.

"Following consideration of Mr. Saunders' explanation, the stewards found Mr Saunders guilty of misconduct and have fined him £15,000 to be donated to charities.

"The suspension of his boxer's licence has been lifted."

Saunders had been slated to face pound-for-pound superstar Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez in May before the COVID-19 shutdown laid waste to the boxing schedule.

He recently ruled himself out of the running to take on the Mexican four-weight ruler in September, meaning domestic rival and the WBA 168-pound champion Callum Smith is now viewed as a frontrunner for the money-spinning Alvarez assignment.