ANDY LEE'S WBO World Middleweight title defence against Billy Joe Saunders has been postponed once again due to a cut sustained by the latter.
Saunders received the gash during a sparring session in preparation for the fight, which had been moved to October 10 in Manchester after the original date – September 19 in Thomond Park, Limerick – was also postponed as Lee contracted a virus.
A new date has not yet been scheduled, but co-promoter Frank Warren says they will look to re-arrange yet again as soon as they can determine the extent of Saunders’ injury.
In a statement he said: “It’s a real shame that Billy has been forced out of the fight because of a cut and we await the report from the specialists so that we can look to reschedule the fight as soon as possible for the fans.”
Saunders, meanwhile, has offered his apologies to Limerick native Lee, but has vowed to finally make the fight happen as he remains mandatory challenger for the title.
“First of all I’m sorry to Andy and all the fans that this fight has had to be postponed again,” said Saunders.
“It’s completely unfortunate that I got a cut during a sparring session, but there’s nothing I can do now until the specialist advises me on when I can resume training and fight again.
“I’m committed to this world title fight, I’m the WBO mandatory challenger and the WBO have confirmed that I’ll remain the mandatory challenger. It’s just a very frustrating situation at the moment as myself and Andy just want to get in the ring and fight after all the delays.”
Members of the public have until September 8 to get a refund for the full face value of their ticket at the original point of purchase, although the Manchester card is still going ahead with its two other world title fights in Terry Flanagan vs Diego Magdaleno and Liam Smith vs John Thompson.
