According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, WBO Middleweight champion Andy Lee will defend his crown against Peter Quillin.
The bout could only take place after a deal was reached with mandatory contender Billy Joe Saunders to step aside. The rumored date for the bout is April 11 with Barclays Center being mentioned as a possible Venue.
“After tens of hours of work we completed a step-aside agreement and executed it,” DiBella said. “Lee versus Quillin will be for the WBO championship and Billy Joe Saunders gets the next shot.
“That’s part of the deal. It’s possible Saunders could be on the undercard of Lee-Quillin, but he will get an interim fight regardless, possibly in the States. The date, venue and television network will be forthcoming.”
And if I didn’t step aside Andy lee was vacating his world title,” Saunders wrote. “I want to fight a champion. Not for vacant belt.”
“It’s a great match and it’s a huge opportunity for Andy, who wanted to defend his title,” DiBella said. “It’s also a great opportunity for Quillin to get the title back. But it’s a really good matchup of styles. They aren’t going to run from each other. There will be bombs thrown. Pete is strong and a come forward kind of guy, but Andy is a go-to-battle warrior with a good chin and he’s got that tremendous equalizer, the killer right hook. That may play into one of Peter’s weaknesses.
“So I think it’s a sensational fight. There are certain fights you know will be action fights and this is gonna be an action fight, a fan-friendly action fight between two of the best middleweights in world.”
