WBO middleweight titlist Billy Joe Saunders needs a new opponent given the legal fallout of his former mandatory challenger Advantil Khurtsidze’s alleged organized crime related activities, but he has a date now at least. Frank Warren is reportedly aiming for a September 16th show that will also feature the anticipated WBO lightweight title showdown between titlist Terry Flanagan and his mandatory challenger Felix Verdejo.
Billy Joe Saunders (24-0, 12 KOs) has had one of the worst title reigns in recent history since winning his belt from Andy Lee at the tail end of 2015. That fight itself was pretty dreadful and it took him a year to defend the belt at all. When he did, it was against almost completely unknown Artur Akavov. Saunders struggled in that fight to boot. By September, it will have been another nine months since that one low level defense. Khurtsidze would have been the excellent opponent we all want to see Saunders in the ring with, but who knows now that Frank Warren and company need to find a new opponent due to Khurtsidze’s legal situation.
Terry Flanagan (33-0, 13 KOs) has had a couple soft defenses himself since winning his belt in 2015, but he has also fought good fighters like Diego Magdaleno and most recently Petr Petrov as well. His opponent, Puerto Rico’s Felix Verdejo (23-0, 15 KOs), was once considered one of boxing’s absolute top prospects. A series of uninspiring performances were followed by a motorcycle accident that kept Verdejo on the shelf for about six months prior to his return in February against the supposedly overmatched Oliver Flores. While Verdejo had previously been uninspiring due to boring but dominant performances, in this fight he struggled to win a close bout against a low level fighter. Now the once hyped prospect enters his world title chance without the aura that once surrounded him as a future great.
The show is tentatively penciled in for the Copper Box Arena in London. Though it shares the same date as Golovkin/Canelo, it will not conflict due to the time zone differences between the UK and America.
