Saw this piece by Dan Rafael.
I'm a little surprised that Korobov (24-0, 14 KO) has just 14 knockouts. I saw him fight about 3 or 4 years ago and he showed great power. I think he went by Matvey back then, though.
http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/11751625/matt-korobov-andy-lee-fight-set-dec-13-las-vegas
On Thursday, the fight was added to the undercard of former welterweight titleholder Timothy Bradley Jr.'s match with Diego Chaves on Dec. 13 at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. The bout will air on HBO as part of what is now a tripleheader, Top Rank vice president Todd duBoef told ESPN.com.
Korobov was initially supposed to face then-titleholder Peter Quillin on Nov. 1 as his mandatory challenger. Music mogul Jay Z's Roc Nation Sports, new to the boxing business, won the purse bid for a shocking $1,904,840 to beat bids by Quillin promoter Golden Boy ($1,207,000) and Korobov promoter Top Rank ($515,000).
But Quillin ultimately passed on the fight -- and a career-high purse of $1,428,630, around triple his best previous purse -- and vacated the title. That left Korobov, who would have career-high earnings of $476,210 against Quillin, to face junior middleweight titlist Demetrius Andrade for the vacant belt when the WBO granted Andrade's petition for the opportunity. However, Andrade eventually decided to remain at junior middleweight, opening the door for longtime contender (and former title challenger) Lee to accept the assignment against Korobov, who won't make near what he would have under the purse bid, although terms were not disclosed.
Once it was clear that Korobov and Lee were on board, it came down to finding a date and site for the bout. Top Rank and HBO were planning to put on the rubber match between welterweights Mike Alvarado and Brandon Rios, who have split a pair of hellacious fight of the year candidates, in mid-January before the possibility of moving up to Dec. 20 was broached, with Korobov-Lee ticketed to open the broadcast.
But duBoef said Alvarado-Rios III could not be put together that quickly, so Korbov-Lee was added to the Dec. 13 card.
Korobov (24-0, 14 KOs), 31, a 2008 Russian Olympian now living in Florida, will be fighting for a world title for the first time.
"Andy Lee is a terrific fighter. He's dangerous and he can punch. It certainly won't be a picnic, but I believe in my guy," said Cameron Dunkin, Korobov's manager. "My guy has been looking good and he definitely wanted this fight. He's 31 and he knows it's time to get going. He knows this is his time and he knows he must win."
Ireland's Lee (33-2, 23 KOs), 30, a 2004 Olympian, has fought for a world title once before, getting stopped by then-middleweight titlist Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in the seventh round in 2012. Lee has won five fights in a row since, including a spectacular fifth-round knockout of John Jackson on June 7 on the undercard of Miguel Cotto's middleweight championship victory against Sergio Martinez at Madison Square Garden in New York.
I'm a little surprised that Korobov (24-0, 14 KO) has just 14 knockouts. I saw him fight about 3 or 4 years ago and he showed great power. I think he went by Matvey back then, though.
http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/11751625/matt-korobov-andy-lee-fight-set-dec-13-las-vegas
On Thursday, the fight was added to the undercard of former welterweight titleholder Timothy Bradley Jr.'s match with Diego Chaves on Dec. 13 at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. The bout will air on HBO as part of what is now a tripleheader, Top Rank vice president Todd duBoef told ESPN.com.
Korobov was initially supposed to face then-titleholder Peter Quillin on Nov. 1 as his mandatory challenger. Music mogul Jay Z's Roc Nation Sports, new to the boxing business, won the purse bid for a shocking $1,904,840 to beat bids by Quillin promoter Golden Boy ($1,207,000) and Korobov promoter Top Rank ($515,000).
But Quillin ultimately passed on the fight -- and a career-high purse of $1,428,630, around triple his best previous purse -- and vacated the title. That left Korobov, who would have career-high earnings of $476,210 against Quillin, to face junior middleweight titlist Demetrius Andrade for the vacant belt when the WBO granted Andrade's petition for the opportunity. However, Andrade eventually decided to remain at junior middleweight, opening the door for longtime contender (and former title challenger) Lee to accept the assignment against Korobov, who won't make near what he would have under the purse bid, although terms were not disclosed.
Once it was clear that Korobov and Lee were on board, it came down to finding a date and site for the bout. Top Rank and HBO were planning to put on the rubber match between welterweights Mike Alvarado and Brandon Rios, who have split a pair of hellacious fight of the year candidates, in mid-January before the possibility of moving up to Dec. 20 was broached, with Korobov-Lee ticketed to open the broadcast.
But duBoef said Alvarado-Rios III could not be put together that quickly, so Korbov-Lee was added to the Dec. 13 card.
Korobov (24-0, 14 KOs), 31, a 2008 Russian Olympian now living in Florida, will be fighting for a world title for the first time.
"Andy Lee is a terrific fighter. He's dangerous and he can punch. It certainly won't be a picnic, but I believe in my guy," said Cameron Dunkin, Korobov's manager. "My guy has been looking good and he definitely wanted this fight. He's 31 and he knows it's time to get going. He knows this is his time and he knows he must win."
Ireland's Lee (33-2, 23 KOs), 30, a 2004 Olympian, has fought for a world title once before, getting stopped by then-middleweight titlist Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in the seventh round in 2012. Lee has won five fights in a row since, including a spectacular fifth-round knockout of John Jackson on June 7 on the undercard of Miguel Cotto's middleweight championship victory against Sergio Martinez at Madison Square Garden in New York.
