WBA 160LB KING JACOBS BACKS LEE TO BEAT SAUNDERS, BUT SAUNDERS TELLS HIM NOT TO BOOK A DATE YET

WBA World Middleweight Champion Daniel Jacobs is backing rival WBO king Andy Lee to emerge the winner out his fight against Billy Joe Saunders to set up a unification fight, but the Hatfield ace says he’ll scupper that.

Brooklyn puncher Jacobs smashed neighbourhood rival Peter Quillin – who held Lee to a draw in April – inside a round last Saturday night in a brutal performance that sent shockwaves through the 160lb ranks that also holds elite fighters Gennady Golovkin and Saul Alvarez.

Jacobs will be a keen observer of the Lee v Saunders battle on Saturday 19th December at the Manchester Arena, that will be televised live in the U.S on Showtime, and believes a fight against Lee – who’s fought the majority of his career in the States and is a fight fan favourite with his thrilling KO wins against John Jackson and Matt Korobov – will be a bigger draw than Saunders.

“I’m excited for the winner of Lee vs. Saunders.” Said Jacobs.

“I’m rooting for Andy Lee because I think that’s a bigger fight for me. Doing something in the U.S. between the two of us would make a lot of sense,”

“He has a huge following here in New York, just like me obviously. It would be a classic showdown that Brooklyn would appreciate,”

“May the best man win between the two of them, but if Andy wins I think it would be very interesting for both of us.”

However, undefeated Saunders has told Jacobs not to book any dates to face Lee just yet as he aims to emerge the winner.

“Full respect to Jacobs for winning his fight against Quillin in such sensational style,” Said Saunders

“I did predict beforehand that Quillin would beat him on points and I called that one wrong when he did him in a round. I also said that I’d be too fast for both him and Quillin and I still say that would be the case,”

“So he’s tipping Andy Lee in this one? For the boxing trade and public it is a genuine 50-50 fight and a hard one to call, but I know in my mind what I’m going to do in the fight and win the world title,”

“We’ll see what happens in just under one week’s time when me and Lee clash, but there’s only one winner and that’s me.”

“If Jacobs is getting excited at the thought of him against Lee then I’m going to have to crush that dream for him.”

Frank Warren’s end of year title extravaganza ‘X-Mas Cracker’ is headlined by two massive world title showdowns with WBO World Middleweight Champion Andy Lee defending his title against Billy Joe Saunders and WBO World Super-Welterweight Champion Liam Smith making his first title defence against Jimmy Kelly. A staggering SIX further titles are on the line with Mitchell Smith defending his WBO Intercontinental Super-Featherweight title against George Jupp; Paul Butler challenges for the Vacant WBO European Super-Flyweight Championship against Silvio Olteanu; Tommy Langford defends his WBO Intercontinental Middleweight Championship; Commonwealth Super-Welterweight Champion Liam Williams and Kris Carslaw clash with the Vacant British title also on the line; Jack Catterall defends his WBO Intercontinental Super-Lightweight Championship, and Tom Stalker and Craig Evans clash again for the Vacant WBO European Lightweight Championship. The undercard features Merseyside favourite Joe Selkirk in a six-round contest, Indian superstar Vijender Singh, Anthony Yarde and top Manchester prospects Jack Flattley and Dale Coyne, plus Razza Hamza.

Tickets are priced at £40, £50, £75, £100, £200 and £300 are available from:

www.frankwarren.com

TicketMaster

0844 844 0444

www.ticketmaster.co.uk

Eventim

0844 249 1000

www.eventim.co.uk

Manchester Arena

0161 950 5000

0161 950 5229 (disabled access bookings)

www.manchester-arena.co.uk

*Tickets are subject to a booking fee.

The Channel Of Champions, BoxNation, will televise Daniel Jacobs v Peter Quillin live and exclusive on Sky 437/HD 490, Virgin 546 and Talk Talk 415. Subscribe at www.boxnation.com Or watch online at Livesport.tv and via iPhone, iPad or Android.