By Allan Fox: It now looks like #3 WBO Andy Lee (33-2, 23 KOs) will be facing #1 WBO Matt Korobov (24-0, 14 KOs) for the vacant WBO middleweight title. The date that they’re looking for is December 13th. This is for the WBO title that Peter Quillin vacates last September when he was supposed to be fighting Korobov for the belt.
Earlier, the World Boxing Organization approved Demetrius Andrade to face Korobov for the vacant WBO middleweight belt after Andrade’s team applied for the spot. But soon after, Andrade opted to stay at 154 and defend his WBO title. He still doesn’t have an opponent for his next fight, but he preferred to stay at 154 rather than move up to 160 to fight Korobov for the WBO title. #2 WBO Billy Joe Saunders was then going to step in and face Korobov for the vacant WBO middleweight title.
Saunders is now going to be facing Chris Eubank Jr in December instead of fighting Korobov. The winner of the Lee-Korobov fight will face Saunders as long as Saunders gets past Eubank Jr.
“I have referred to the WBO World Championship Committee a request from promoters Top Rank boxing and Frank Warren for Matt Korobov vs Andy Lee,” said WBO president Paco Valcárcel, Esq. on his twitter.
For Lee, 30, this will be his second shot at a world title. He fought former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr two years ago in June of 2012 and was knocked out in the 7th round.
This was the fight where Lee’s late trainer Emanuel Steward repeatedly told Lee to not slug with Chavez Jr, but he did anyway and he got knocked out when he covered up on the ropes.
“We’re working on the details right now,” said promoter Lou DiBella to RingTV.com. “It would look like we’re aiming for December. The venue would be uncertain but it could be in England.”
Having the fight take place in the UK would be an advantage for Lee in theory, but it would still be a tough fight for him because he’s shown a chin problem when getting hit repeatedly by big shots late in his fights. Brian Vera stopped Lee in the 7th round in 2008. Lee would need to be able to take Korobov’s big shots for the full 12 rounds because it’s highly unlikely that he’ll be able to score a knockout over him.
In Lee’s last fight against John Jackson, Lee appeared to be on his way to losing the fight when he scored a one-punch knockout in the 5th round. It would a nice victory for Lee, but things looked bleak for Lee until he caught Jackson with a big shot in the 5th.
“We’re trying to put it together,” said Korobov’s promoter Bob Arum. “We’re looking at Dec. 13.”
Both Korobov and Lee appear to be badly flawed fighters, and it’ll be surprising if the winner holds onto the title for more than 2-3 fights before they get beaten. Saunders would be the first obstacle that the winner of the Korobov-Lee fight will be presented with, and that could be a tough test because of Saunders’ mobility and speed. He’s not easy to hit and he moves constantly.
Comments are closed.