After months of speculation, it would appear that the long awaited showdown between WBO Middleweight champion Andy Lee and his mandatory challenger Billy Joe Saunders, has unfortunately come to a disappointing conclusion.
Since Lee knocked out Matt Korobov to win the illustrious WBO belt back in December, it was believed that his next outing would undoubtedly be a clash with rival Saunders.
However, even after positive talks from Saunders’ promoter Frank Warren, who was adamant that the fight was a mere formality, it would seem that Saunders has stepped aside for the time being, which allows the Irish champion to face off against former WBO king Peter Quillin, earning a career-high pay day in New York City in the process.
Obviously, the 26-year-old from Hatfield was far from pleased with the reported outcome, but was satisfied with the financial gain along with the promise of a sure fire world title tilt in the coming months.
“As you would imagine this last 2 weeks has been a bit of a headache, now we have finally come to an agreement.” said Saunders, while speaking to Steve Bunce on the Bunce Boxing Hour.
“I got paid well to step aside, very well and I’m on the undercard as well. Everything has worked in my favour and I’m guaranteed a shot in the summer.”
“Andy Lee got the WBO belt, then he went straight off trying to make a big fight with Peter Quillin. Obviously we called for purse bids which stopped all that. I was told that if we couldn’t come to an agreement, then Andy Lee was going to vacate the title anyway which would leave me fighting for a vacant title. I have no problem with that but i would rather fight a champion,” said the undefeated Olympian.
The debate surrounding Peter Quillin has already sparked some ill feeling within boxing circles and will continue to rage on, as many are livid that ‘Kid Chocolate’ was able to get a shot at his former title so soon after vacating it.
Quillin turned down a career-high payday against Korobov previously, which has riled the fans somewhat; as mega manager Al Haymon, advised his charge not to defend his title on a Roc Nation Sports card.
The American has not graced the ring since he gave up his crown, therefore he will be surly itching to get back to action. But after his jump to the top of the queue, several fans are still understandably unsettled.
Despite the unrest though, an undeterred Saunders has his debut in America to look forward to, a substantial financial injection and a guaranteed title shot in the summer, thus giving the impression that the British Middleweight turned a rather devastating scenario into a very respectable offer, which snatched with both hands.
With the door to Lee vs Quillin now clearly ajar, it is expected that the American will have his chance to propel to the summit of the 160-pound division for the second time, putting behind him a torrid few months.
Although, whether or not he deserves his shot so soon remains to be seen. However, the French have a saying “plus ça change plus c’est la même chose” meaning, the more things change, the more they stay the same, which coincidently epitomizes everything about boxing, as unjust like this is a continuous flaw within the sport.
It is simply another harsh example of how the fight game can be unjustifiably unfair to the Minos, while the big fish prosper.
