Andy Lee vs. Billy Joe Saunders: Winner, Scorecard and Reaction
Billy Joe Saunders (23-0, 12 KOs) eked out a majority-decision victory over Andy Lee (34-3-1) to become the new WBO middleweight champion Saturday in Manchester, England. Laceupboxing shared the official scorecards:
Showtime Sports provided the announcement of the cards from Jimmy Lennon Jr. and the winner's reaction:
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The fighters had tons of respect for each other—perhaps too much. The apprehension was evident throughout, as there was more feinting than punching, with the exception of the third round. Saunders likely earned the title with his performance in that frame.
A short right hand caught Lee on the chin and sent him down.
Lee got to his feet, but he was wobbly. The 31-year-old Irishman is never short on heart or resiliency. Saturday night's fight was no exception. Instead of holding, Lee tried to fight his way out of trouble, but that approach didn't work.
In a tangle, Saunders caught Lee with another big shot, and the champion went down again. Lee made it to his feet for a second time and barely survived the round. Showtime Sports showed both knockdowns:
It looked as though we had a middleweight classic on our hands. However, slowly but surely, the action dragged significantly over the next eight rounds. Saunders could have pressured Lee in search of the finish in the fourth and fifth rounds, but he didn't take that route.
Perhaps Lee's history of getting off the canvas to remain a serious threat was in Saunders' mind. Lee had scored a come-from-behind victory over John Jackson in 2014. Jackson floored him in the first round before Lee scored a devastating one-punch knockout in the fifth.
Later that year, Matt Korobov was outboxing him before Lee again landed a destructive right hand that gave him the win and WBO title. In his last fight against Peter Quillin, Lee dropped in the first and third rounds. He rallied to a draw in that fight after scoring his own knockdown in the seventh.
Seemingly insistent on not becoming Lee's next victim, Saunders elected to utilize his superior movement to protect his lead. It was a gamble that could have backfired on him. His jab was a solid weapon throughout the middle rounds, but he abandoned it at times late in the fight.
That allowed Lee to close the gap and regain some confidence.
One judge had the fight even, and the other two had Saunders winning by four or fewer points. A quick analysis of the cards suggests the judges scored the fight for Lee from the third round on. We've seen several fights begin with early knockdowns from one fighter but end up going the other way.
Chris Algieri's 2014 victory over Ruslan Provodnikov was one of the most recent examples. Saunders did enough to avoid that fate, but he didn't impress many members of the boxing community in the process.
ESPN.com's Dan Rafael, Laceupboxing and Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix didn't give the new champion a ringing endorsement:
It's true: Saunders didn't look like a fighter who would fare well against WBA regular champion Daniel Jacobs or lineal 160-pound kingpin Gennady Golovkin. His title says "world champion," but he'd be better off keeping his reign regional against the likes of Chris Eubank Jr.
Saunders won a close split decision over Eubank in 2014. A rematch is the most winnable and intriguing bout he could make for his first defense.
Lee is an overachiever; he's not expressly talented. The 31-year-old brings one primary weapon into the ring: a big right hand.
If his opponent stays away from it—as Saunders did—the challenger will likely come out on top.
Still, Saunders is an action-packed fighter who could be a decent opponent for an up-and-coming contender.
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