By Terence Dooley

The World Boxing Organization (WBO) has confirmed that Hatfield’s Billy Joe Saunders, 21-0 (11) will be in the hunt for an interim title, should Andy Lee’s shoulder injury keeps him out of action beyond this summer's mandatory deadline date.
 
Saunders is mandatory challenger to Andy Lee's WBO title, which he won by stopping Matt Korobov in Las Vegas last December then retained via a split draw after New York's Peter Quillin failed to make weight earlier this month. As per WBO rules, the parties have a 30-day negotiating period before the fight gets sent out to purse bids.  

If the champion cannot defend, Regulation 5 (e) comes into play: ‘In any circumstance in which a Mandatory Defense does not occur within the designated time period, the World Championship Committee may order an Interim Championship between contenders determined by the World Championship Committee.’
 
Lee, though, has told Francisco Valcarcel, the WBO’s President, that a shoulder injury may rule him out of a summer showdown, freeing the way for Saunders.  

“It's unfortunate but Andy Lee has picked up an injury to his shoulder so he will not be able to fight Saunders, who has worked his way into our mandatory position,” stated Valcarcel when speaking to the Daily Mail. “But we want Saunders to fight this summer so we are thinking of making an interim belt for him to fight for before pressing ahead with the Lee challenge once he is fit and well again.”
 
The winner of this bout will automatically face Lee once the Irishman is back in action. 

As mentioned above, WBO Regulation Section 1.(b) 18 and 19 states that the organisation’s World Championship Committee decides if an interim title is required and puts forward suitable challengers.
 
As is always the case with a Governing Body, there is a section that states that: ‘The World Championships regulations may be amended at any time, with respect to any aspect, through an exception or special case, provided the amendment is approved by the majority vote of the World Championship Committee and the Executive Committee. If any of these rules are determined to be unenforceable, the balance of these rules shall remain in full force and effect,’ [Section 36. Exception To The Regulations].  So the WBO has complete discretion as to who fights for the interim belt. 
 
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