By Terence Dooley
The British middleweight title fight between Hatfield's Billy Joe Saunders and mandatory challenger John Ryder has been sent out to 'short term purse bids', according to today's BBBoC British Championship Circular. Saunders, 17-0 (10), must now wait until next Wednesday (the 22nd) for further news of his second defence after the Board set a fresh deadline for the bids — the contest itself has to take place by the end of September.
Eddie Hearn, who promotes the 14-0 (8) Ryder, was announced as the winner of the original purse bids process in last week's British Championship Circular, which was published last Wednesday, but will now have to make a fresh bid for the bout. The Board did not include a reason for the resubmission of bids.
Saunders, 23, is promoted by Frank Warren; he out-pointed Nick Blackwell in December to win the vacant title then repeated the trick against Matthew Hall in his first defence. His mandated fight with Ryder, 24, is the pick of the upcoming British title action — both men are undefeated and each wants to move on to bigger things. The Islington-based challenger won't give Saunders an easy ride; Ryder earned his shot by stopping Eamonn O'Kane by eighth-round TKO in December. Once it is finally signed, sealed and delivered, the fight will surely be one of the highlights of 2013.
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