WBO MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION Andy Lee will open his title defence against American Peter Quillin on 11 April after mandatory challenger Billy Joe Saunders has decided to step aside.
It’s expected the fight will take place in New York after Saunders, the current British, Commonwealth, European and WBO International Champion, and promoter Frank Warren announced he will fight the winner later in the year instead.
Warren, who is also Saunders’ manager, believes a potential Lee-Saunders world title clash would be a show-piece fight worthy of being staged in a bigger venue such as a football ground in London.
“As any boxer would if they had the opportunity to fight for the world title they would want it immediately, that’s the business we’re in, I want to prove that I’m the best in the world and I believe that I can beat Lee or Quillin right now,” Saunders said in a statement released today.
“Frank’s right in that the fight between me and Lee, if he defends his title against Quillin, will be a massive fight and needs to be held on the biggest stage and that’s a football stadium, the fight will only get bigger and bigger, so the timing needs to be right and it needs to wait until the summer,”
Lee became the first Irishman to win a world title on American soil since 1934 when he defeated Matt Korobov last December in Las Vegas.
