By Jake Donovan

The show will go on in Wembley Arena on May 9, but without the two leading attractions on the card. Billy Joe Saunders and Chris Eubank Jr.—ring rivals who were scheduled to appear in separate bouts—have withdrawn from the card, as both fighters angle for a potential rematch.

A press statement from Frank Warren's Queensberry Promotions confirmed that the rest of the May 9 card will remain intact. Frank Buglioni, Bradley Skeete and Mitchell Smith now highlight what's left of the show, all appearing in separate bouts.

Eubank Jr. (19-1, 14KOs) was due to make his first defense of a secondary version of the World Boxing Association (WBA) middleweight title versus Australia's Les Sherrington. The bout was scratched once Eubank Jr. and team learned of the potential to fight for another interim title in the form of a potential rematch with Saunders. 

Queensberry Promotions has not yet confirmed whether Sherrington (35-7, 19KOs) will remain on the card. 

The participation of Eubank Jr. and Saunders on this show was in jeopardy once it was revealed that

the World Boxing Organization (WBO) would permit Saunders to fight for a secondary version of its middleweight belt. Saunders—the WBO's leading middleweight contender—was granted approval to vie for such a belt after the sanctioning body was informed of its recognized titlist, Andy Lee suffering a shoulder injury, thus preventing him from honoring his mandatory obligations.

Lee will have to face the interim titlist once he is recovered and ready to return to the ring. 

A plot twist came when the WBO agreed to allow Saunders and Eubank Jr. to negotiate terms for a rematch with its interim belt at stake. The development came as a surprise since Eubank already holds a WBA interim title. The WBO ordered its bantamweight titlsit, Tomoki Kameda to relinquish his crown for agreeing to face WBA interim titlist Jamie McDonnell.

It can be noted that the difference in the situations is that Kameda is a "full" champion who agreed to face a secondady titlist. The WBO elected to not recognize such a bout as a title unification contest, which is one of the few exceptions sanctioning bodies will grant in lieu of honoring a mandatory challenge. 

With this developments comes the possibility of the winner of the potential rematch serving as an interim titlist for two separate sanctioning bodies. 

The rub is that Eubank Jr. and his team will have to be more cooperative than usual, otherwise the second-generation middleweight will have lost out on two title fight opportunities. The WBO has ordered that terms for the rematch must be fully agreed upon—with contract in hand—by close of business Friday. 

Should the two camps fail to secure a deal, Saunders will be ordered to face the next leading contender approved by the WBO for its interim title, while Eubank Jr. will have to move in another direction, in addition to being left without a fight on May 9. 

The goal for both fighters—who claim a rematch to be their top priority—is for such a fight to take place this summer. 

Saunders and Eubank Jr. saw their bitter rivalry come to a head with their in-ring meet last November. The bout—which served as the chief support to Tyson Fury's rematch win over Dereck Chisora—ended with Saunders barely escaping with a narrow decision, handing his archrival his lone defeat to date. 

Eubank Jr. has since bounced back with a hard-fought 12th round knockout of previously unbeaten Dmitry Chudinov this past February. The win netted the Brit a secondary version of the middleweight belt currently in possession of unbeaten rising star Gennady Golovkin. 

The scheduled May 9 showcase appearance would have marked Saunders' first fight since his aforementioned win over Eubank Jr. 

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox