Billy Joe Saunders vs Demetrius Andrade ordered to purse bid

After ordering a mandatory title defense between WBO middleweight titleholder Billy Joe Saunders (26-0, 12 KOs) and Demetrius Andrade (25-0, 16 KOs), it turns out that the fighters have been unable to come to a purse agreement for the fight. Therefore the WBO has ordered the fight to go to purse bid on July 25th which will take place at a hotel in Kissimmee, Florida.

The minimum allowable bid for the fight will be $200,000 but it is unclear whether or not Andrade will actively pursue this title shot. Andrade has been out of action since October where he took a less-than-impressive decision over Alantez Fox, and has since signed on to be apart of Eddie Hearn’s new DAZN venture.

Hearn has Andrade penciled-in for an October 6th fight in Chicago (against an opponent to be determined) in what is expected to be a rather soft touch considering that Andrade will have been on the sidelines for a year by that time.

And if that will indeed be the case, it seems that Andrade might just pass up this title fight for what could very well end up being short money and instead try to plow an alternative path through Matchroom.