Saunders accepts 6-figure sum to step aside

Billy Joe Saunders has accepted a 6-figure sum to relinquish his WBO World title shot to allow Andy Lee to face Peter Quillin in April.

In doing so the Hatfield middleweight secured a slot on the on the undercard of what promises to be a huge New York show against a yet to be named opponent.

This is the second time Saunders 21-0 (11KO’s) has stepped aside, having allowed Matt Korobov 24-1 (14KO’s) to face Andy Lee 34-2 (24KO’s) in December. Instead facing Chris Eubank Jnr 18-1 (13KO’s) in a lucrative rematch that he won on a split decision.

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Nonito Donaire back in action on March 28

Nonito Donaire will be making his ring return on March 28th against the Brazilian William Prado, who holds a record of 22 wins (15 via KO) and 4 losses. The fight will take place in the Philippines and the airing network is still to be announced. One of Prado’s losses was a third round KO defeat to Scott Quigg in 2013. Prado is coming off a 1st round knock out win over a hardly known fighter named Marcelo Bispo (0 wind, 1 loss) in April of 2014.

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Why is Peter Quillin being allowed to fight for the WBO title?

In 2012 Peter Quillin won the WBO middleweight title and defended it three times before vacating in 2014. His WBO mandatory challenger was Matt Korobov who was undefeated in 24 contests with 14 knockouts and Quillin opted to vacate the title rather than face his mandatory.

Andy Lee then got the opportunity and surprised everyone by pulling off the upset in a thrilling knockout comeback in the sixth. Now that Korobov is out of the picture and the title rests with Andy Lee who has been stopped twice previously in his career, Quillin wants back into the title picture and is being given a shot at Lees newly aquired title. My question is, why are the WBO allowing this?

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Danny Garcia – ‘I don’t lose’

In a recent interview with Fighthype, Danny Garcia made it clear that Lamont Peterson would not beat him in their bout scheduled for April 11th 2015. In the interview Garcia pointed to Petersons two losses in the past at the hands of Lucas Matthysse and Timothy Bradley as big indicators as to what was going to happen. Garcia also mentioned the fact that he was undefeated and had never even be knocked down in his twenty-nine fight pro career.

Certainly this is one of the best matchups to be made in the 140lb weight class, but how much of a chance does Peterson really have in this fight? The interviewer asked if Peterson had the power to trouble Garcia and Danny replied by saying ‘I don’t think he has power.’

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Eddie Hearn – Brook has to ‘do more’ to get Mayweather or Pacquiao fight

In an interview with IFL TV, Eddie Hearn can be quoted as saying ‘of course we want the Mayweather fight, but I am not going to start shouting it out because I think we have to do more to get it.’

In the half hour interview with IFL TV Eddie Hearn discussed many things including British fighters Amir Khan, Carl Froch, James DeGale and George Groves, but he also discussed the future of his fighter Kell Brook who will be coming back from a stab wound to defend his IBF title against Jo Jo Dan on the 28th March 2015.

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Q & A: Kevin Barry

KEVIN BARRY TALKS ABOUT TRAINING WORLD CLASS HEAVYWEIGHT JOSEPH PARKER: Kevin Barry is training rising heavyweight prospect Joseph Parker (12-0-0) at a privately owned boxing gym in the suburbs of Las Vegas. I spent the morning with Barry at this facility discussing how Parker is tracking for his next fight with Jason Pettaway, and his future plans for the young heavyweight.

Q; Explain the set-up of this training facility?

This is a privately owned gym facility that I use to train Joseph and another heavyweight Izu Ugonoh .It’s great having a facility where it’s only Joe and I. He’s also living with me and has become every bit a part of my family.

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David Price believes he will be fighting for world title in mid 2016

David Price has been making news again with talk of a world title opportunity coming somewhere between 12 and 24 months time. He has said that his fight against little known Irineu Beato Costa Jr is the first step on a road to his deserved world title shot.

This talk has to be seen as nonsense at this point as he has not done anything since his back-to-back knockout losses to Tony Thompson to suggest he is able to fight at world level. He also does not have plans in the works to put him on the map as a contender in the heavyweight division.

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Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag: Mayweather/Pacquiao, Cotto, Garcia, & Guerrero/Thurman!

Chris H. (Dallas, TX): Reports have spread that Miguel Cotto will be announcing his next opponent in a week or so. What are the odds that Floyd Mayweather has opted to face him instead of Pacquiao at this time? And if not, do you think the Pacquiao fight gets done?

Vivek W. (ESB): All eyes in and around the sport remain locked on Mayweather and Pacquiao. I’ve said from day one that there are more layers to this mess than meets the eye, and as time goes on, we’re reminded of exactly how complex these negotiations are. Years ago, these two men stood to make two incredibly healthy pay checks. Despite Pacquiao being knocked out and on the losing end a few times, the demand for this fight is even greater now than it’s ever been, which may actually have a lot to do with why the fight can’t seem to be made.

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Spike TV: Andre Berto vs. Josesito Lopez and Shawn Porter vs. Roberto Garcia

The launch of “Premier Boxing Champions” on Spike TV features a can’t-miss double main event on Friday, March 13 from Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif. including with a welterweight showdown between hard-hitting Andre “The Beast” Berto (29-3, 22 KOs) and the electrifying Josesito “Riverside Rocky” Lopez (33-6, 19 KOs), fighting in front of his hometown fans.

The first main event of the evening will see the return of former welterweight champion Shawn “Showtime” Porter (24-1, 15 KOs) facing off against the dangerous Roberto “La Amenaza” Garcia (36-3, 23 KOs).

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Garcia vs. Peterson breakdown

2015 is setting up to be one of the best years of boxing we have seen in recent years. There are a lot of interesting matchups being made and Al Haymons number of new TV deals means that more people will be watching these fights than in the past few years.

One of these well-balanced bouts would be the competitive champion vs. champion fight in Garcia vs. Peterson. Although the titles will not be on the line for this fight, it will still be an interesting show between two top 140lb fighters.

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