WBO Middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders has been ordered to defend his title against Billy Joe Saunders, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com
“We got the letter from the WBO and Frank Warren reached out to me in an email and I responded back to him, so we’ve started dialogue and it will continue. We’re going to start negotiating,” Golden Boy Promotions Eric Gomez told ESPN.
“You can’t do it on that undercard. It’s a little too expensive,” Gomez said. “Frank’s got the champion, so he’ll make us an offer. Most likely he’ll want to do the fight in the U.K. Depending on the offer, we’ll react. We’ll discuss it with David, but it’s a good fight for HBO. I notified [HBO Sports executive vice president] Peter Nelson and he has interest in it.”
“We have 30 days to negotiate a deal, and then if they call for a purse bid it would be within two weeks after the 30 days,” Gomez said. “Then from the date of the purse bid it’s 90 days to put on the fight, so you’re looking at maybe February or March. But David is ready to fight in December, so that will be part of our conversation with Frank. It’s all open to discussion and negotiation.”
