Billy Joe Saunders shocked the world last year when he defeated Andy Lee for a middleweight world title. Ever since, Lee has been in obscurity. But now he's ready to make a big comeback in his career.
Lee recently appeared on the Off the Ball radio show and spoke about the time he's been away from the sport since losing to Saunders.
"I am back in training," Lee said. "I decided to take a break after my last fight, which I lost, just to get away from it for a while."
The 32-year-old boxer also revealed the original plans of his return. He was slated to come back in December, but now he is likely to have his next fight take place in 2017. The goal, at the end of the day, is to face off against unified middleweight titleholder Gennady Golovkin.
"Originally, it was supposed to be a prelim bout against an opponent of our choosing, which would be like a comeback [fight], somebody with a good record, rated in the top 20,” Lee said. “But the way things have developed, there's a good chance I could fight Jorge Sebastian Heiland, who was the WBC No. 1 contender and beat [retired former title challenger] Matthew Macklin [in Dublin] a couple of years ago. That's a fight I'd like [with Heiland] and a fight that would make sense for me. It would lead to a possible title fight with Golovkin, so that's what I'm hoping is in the works.”
Lee held the WBO Middleweight Championship from 2014 to 2015. Credit to ESPN's Dan Rafael for the transcription.
