Andy Lee (c) vs. Billy Joe Saunders - December 19th 2015

[Andrew]

I lean towards BJS points but part of me wants Andy Lee to win because he will 100% fight GGG or Jacobs in his next.

BJS probably would eventually but not straight away.

[expe]

Been struggling to pick a winner, but the closer it gets to the fight the more I lean towards Saunders. I just can't see Lee forcing him to fight at a pace that might make him gas late on, Billy Joe breezed through 12 rounds against Pryce, Hall and O'Sullivan, struggled against Blackwell, Ryder and Eubank Jr but Blackwell has a fantastic engine, there's not many fighters he won't be able to cause problems late in fights, Ryder he broke his hand after 3 rounds and was burnt out after 6 fights in 15 months before he fought him and he burned up a lot of nervous energy against Eubank, don't think all the games the Eubanks played either, hard to train when no one expects the opponent to show up. Looks in a lot better shape for this one than those too and Lee won't put him under the same pressure they did.

Saunders is definitely the better boxer of the two IMO, regardless of any height and reach advantages Lee has and as long as he stays disciplined and doesn't walk onto anything I think he'll come through on points.

[Bigdogsnose]

I fancy Andy lee to come through this one, on points with a knockdown on the way. He's fought a lot of different styles and came through. His draw with Quillin (take away his last performance!) was pretty impressive - along with his knockout reel highlights. BJS is slightly over-rated and I didn't think he 'schooled' Eubank the way some made out, he did school Sullivan fairly impressively. Andy Lee knows how to dig down the stretch.

Interesting one though.

[pablothunder]

I'm leaning towards Andy Lee to take this by Saunders working too hard and tiring down the stretch. But two thoughts stand out to me- a draw or razor close split decision would be unsurprising; and I wonder, if Saunders does hurt Lee and rush him, how likely is the ref to step in?

[palooka]

Saunders has always seemed fleshy to me and Andy is a true middleweight with a big frame who has been facing some very good opposition. Who is Saunders best scalp? I think Lee will get Billy Joe like he got Korobov.

[CaptainSpacerod]

I've just got an email from allegedly saying I've won tickets to this card and I can collect my tickets from the "allegedly" window at the arena.

As a middle aged cynic my first thought was "Is Frank just giving away tickets to fill the place up"

Has anyone else ever won tickets via allegedly ?

[Andrew]

Saunders has always seemed fleshy to me and Andy is a true middleweight with a big frame who has been facing some very good opposition. Who is Saunders best scalp? I think Lee will get Billy Joe like he got Korobov.

Have to say for this fight BJS looks in awesome shape.

[Fortynineandout]

Has anyone else ever won tickets via allegedly ?[/quote

Yes earlier this year I won two tickets for Wembley arena - frank buglioni's original date against chudinov .
I had no issues collecting the tickets ( good seats ) at the box office but they did check that I had ID that matched my details on the winning e-mail .

[simonwalsh]

Since it was announced for December I've flip-flopped my opinion on who's gonna win. The more this week goes on, I like what I'm hearing and seeing from Lee and I think he'll win on points or a late stoppage.

That said, I've changed my mind about 800 times between like, October and now, so that could change for Satruday. Really looking forward to it though.

[CMDY]

With both fighters not hailing from the Manchester area, who does everyone think the crowd will be cheering for? BJS is from Hatfield (a little North of London on the outskirts of the M25), obviously Andy Lee fights as an Irishman.

Looking forward to this one, am driving up to Manchester from London.

[rd350lc]

can't wait for it too, would love to see Lee win , but fancy saunders on points , has saunders ever been even wobbled by anybody ?

[CaptainSpacerod]

Has anyone else ever won tickets via allegedly ?[/quote

Yes earlier this year I won two tickets for Wembley arena - frank buglioni's original date against chudinov .
I had no issues collecting the tickets ( good seats ) at the box office but they did check that I had ID that matched my details on the winning e-mail .

Ok thanks for that

Why is FW changed to allegedly ? An in - joke or something legal ?

[Tarkus]

I have also changed my opinion on this fight.

BJS stamina wont be an issue. First because he is visibly in the best shape ever. Two and most importantly Lee is a cagey, passive fighter that will let BJS fight at his pace.

Even though I agree with Booth that Lee's skills are undervalued he will find it hard to look good against Billy Joe. BJS is a technical, quick, moving fighter who is hard to pin down and then there is volume aspect that favors him. Lee is throws too little to make impression on the judges.

So only real chance of winning Lee has is to catch BJS with one of his right hands, essentially a punchers chance.

BJS on points.

[Supremo]

BJS on points, Lee is too stationary and BJS will come in and raid him with quick combinations.

BTW you cant really tell anything about BJS athletic abilities from how he looks.

This is a proper boxing card though, excellent undercard, especially when yo see what we have been charged PPV for Well done to FW.

[CaptainSpacerod]

Anybody know where the weigh in is ?

[CMDY]

There are weigh in pictures on FW's Twitter feed. Lee's height advantage looks marked on the pictures.
Am travelling up to cheer on BJS but boxing should be the winner whatever happens. Buzzed about this, and entertaining undercard.

[ThereByTheGrace]

There are weigh in pictures on FW's Twitter feed. Lee's height advantage looks marked on the pictures.
Am travelling up to cheer on BJS but boxing should be the winner whatever happens. Buzzed about this, and entertaining undercard.

Good post, hope there is no controversy.

[CMDY]

https://twitter.com/allegedly/status/ ... 3617713152

Weigh in picture.

[Rexob]

It's quite a size difference! Lee looks in a different division and BJS looks a bit drawn at the weight I thought BJS would take this but not so sure now! It will be interesting to see how BJS copes with Lee's height?

[expe]

Lee had his shoes on for the picture, Saunders was in socks which explains some of the height difference, not as big as it looks but still enough for it to potentially be an issue for Saunders.

[palooka]

Lee had his shoes on for the picture, Saunders was in socks which explains some of the height difference, not as big as it looks but still enough for it to potentially be an issue for Saunders.

Shoes and a tracksuit? FFS Andy!

[reggaereggae]

It's quite a size difference! Lee looks in a different division and BJS looks a bit drawn at the weight I thought BJS would take this but not so sure now! It will be interesting to see how BJS copes with Lee's height?

I think Andy Lee win on points may not be a bad bet. He's a lot taller, and although BJS seems to have better boxing, he may go into a bit of a shell if he can't get close or takes some big shots.

[housesecond]

Any fight times? I can only find the running order.

[Boxerbeetle]

Any fight times? I can only find the running order.

The only confirmed fight time I've seen is for the Lee-BJS fight at 10:15.

[rpms]

Originally thought Lee late stoppage,now leaning towards Saunders points in a pretty boring fight.
Can't imagine Saunders taking any chances and just playing it safe by outboxing Lee