Limerick’s WBO Middleweight champion Andy Lee’s first defence against brash Hatfield traveller Billy – Joe Saunders has been postponed until 10th October.
The fight will now take place at the Manchester arena, as a joint top of the bill with WBO lightweight titlist Terry Flanagan, who will make the first defence of the championship he won in July against the then undefeated Jose Zapeda.
The publicised cause of Postponement is that Andy Lee is suffering from a virus that prevents him from honouring the original 19th September date at Thomond Park stadium, situated in Lee’s home town.
However, as is sometimes the case in boxing, rumours are abound that all is not so proverbially black and white. There are rumblings via a number of internet sources that the fight has not sold as well as initially projected, forcing the promoters to re – think proceedings.
Whilst this will undoubtedly disappoint ticket holders for the doomed September show, Lee- Saunders now joins a bumper evening of boxing, with competitive clashes in expected in abundance.
The night is expected to feature the aforementioned Flanagan against mandatory WBO challenger Diego Magdaleno in what should be a straight forward defence of the belt for “Turbo”.
Liam Smith, Derry Mathews, Jack Caterall, Liam Walsh, Luke Blackledge and Adrian Gonzalez will make up a potentially explosive night of fight action.