Andy Lee’s plans for world title defence thrown into uncertainty

Andy Lee may be forced to scrap his plans for a world-title defence as his mandatory challenger Billy Joe Saunders has stepped up his efforts to book a date with the champion.

Saunders’ manager Frank Warren has even suggested that Lee could have to vacate the title if the champion and his team opt to fight another opponent.

It had been speculated that Lee was set to abandon his original plans for a homecoming fight in Dublin in March and instead take up a $1 million (€870,000) purse to defend his WBO world middleweight title Stateside against Peter Quillin in April.