Jacobs: Andy Lee Too Strong, Experienced for Saunders

By Keith Idec

NEW YORK – Daniel Jacobs will pay close attention when Andy Lee and Billy Joe Saunders go at it Saturday in Manchester, England.

The winner will become a leading candidate to face Jacobs when the WBA middleweight champion returns to the ring in 2016. Jacobs (31-1, 28 KOs), fresh off a first-round technical knockout of Peter Quillin (32-1-1, 23 KOs), expects England’s Lee (34-2-1, 24 KOs) to emerge victorious against England’s Saunders (22-0, 12 KOs) in this mandatory defense of his WBO middleweight championship at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England (Showtime Extreme; 5 p.m. ET).

“In my opinion, I believe Lee will win that fight,” Jacobs told BoxingScene.com. “I think he has more experience. I think he’s the stronger of the two and both are southpaws, so to me, no one really has the edge. Because if you’re a southpaw against an orthodox [fighter], you have more an edge.

“I think Andy is a longer fighter, so he’ll be able to get his jab off a little bit more. And Saunders may have to find a way to get inside. But he has fast hands and he’s also talented, so it’s just going to be a great matchup. I’m looking forward to it.”

Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.