Even at #4 WBO, you can make an argument that Lee doesn’t deserve that ranking because he hasn’t beaten a decent middleweight since his win over Brian Vera three years ago in 2011. Lee’s wins since then has come against middleweights with marginal talent, and against junior middleweights like John Jackson.
Top Rank is packaging the December 13th HBO Tim Bradley (31-1, 12 KOs) vs. Diego Chaves (23-2, 19 KOs) with some really interesting boxing action on the undercard as part of this triple-header card. The word is unbeaten #1 WBO Matt Korobov (24-0, 14 KOs) will be facing #3 WBO Andy Lee (33-2, 23 KOs).
Also, interim WBA World light welterweight champion Mauricio Herrera (21-4, 7 KOs) will be facing unbeaten Top Rank promoted Jose Benavidez Jr. (21-0, 15 KOs). This will be a big step up in class for the 22-year-old Benavidez Jr, because he’s still facing weak opposition at this point in his career.
Unbeaten #1 WBO Matt Korobov (24-0, 14 KOs) and #3 WBO Andy Lee (33-2, 23 KOs) will be tangling for the vacant WBO middleweight title in early December in the UK, according to promoter Frank Warren. The fight has been agreed on.
The winner of the Korobov-Lee fight will then possibly face #2 WBO Billy Joe Saunders (20-0, 11 KOs) if Saunders defeats #9 WBO Chris Eubank Jr (17-0, 12 KOs) in their November 29th domestic level match-up at the ExCel Arena, Dockland, in London, United Kingdom.
It’s a tough ask for Saunders to defeat Eubank Jr in order to get to the Korobov-Lee winner, because that’s a really tough test for the 25-year-old Saunders to have to pass for him to face the likes of Korovbov or Lee.
#1 IBF Matt Korobov (24-0, 14 KOs) has reportedly inked part of the contract for a title shot against WBO 160 pound champ Peter Quillin (31-0, 22 KOs), according to RingTV. Korobov, 31, signed the contract last Friday.
Korobov is now waiting for the 31-year-old Quillin to sign his part of the contract so the fight can move ahead. The target date for the fight is on November 1st at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Korobov has his flaws in terms of his stamina, but he’s arguably a lot better than the guys that Quillin has been feasting on since he won the WBO title against Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam by beating him by a 12 round decision. Since then, Quillin has been a disappointment to some boxing fans for his choice of opposition.
On Monday, Roc Nation Sports won the purse bid for November 8th matchup between WBO middleweight Peter Quillin (31-0, 22 KOs) and his mandatory challenger Matt Korobov (24-0, 14 KOs). Roc Nation was founded by rapper Jay-Z. They out-bid Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank with a monstrous bid of $1,904,840.
Golden Boy came in second with a bid of $1,207,000. Top Rank was a distant third at $515,000. The bid that Roc Nation put in for the Quillin vs. Korobov fight was obviously a very high one because it’s not a fight that promises a lot of interest from boxing fans.