As Andy Lee said in regards to the fight between Carl Frampton and Andres Gutierrez being cancelled, while it's sad for both boxers, it's also the same for the paying public who had intended to attend the Belfast bout.
Former WBO Middleweight champion Lee knows a thing or two about fights having to be cancelled, having endured a similar experience when he was bringing a fight against Billy Joe Saunders to Thomond Park in his own homestead of Limerick.
That was back in the Autumn of 2015 when the fight had already been pushed back once and the fight had to be rescheduled for the Manchester Arena in December of that year following a cut suffered by Saunders. Saunders ultimately won that fight in Manchester.
It was a sad situation for Lee as he explained to Off The Ball as he knew the rescheduling to another country meant his chances of ever fighting in Ireland again had probably disappeared.
He also sympathised with Frampton who's now seen a home town fight cancelled.
"I actually know from first hand experience what he's going through, just the let-down. It's disappointing for yourself but also disappointing for the people that have been involved in the promotion and the people who have paid money to come see you fight and the damage it does," he said, before touching on his own experience and how it's understandable that there would be a reluctance to pay for tickets when there is a risk that a bout may get cancelled.
He continued: "Like, when the thing in Limerick with me against Billy Joe got cancelled, I just knew that I would never fight in Ireland or definitely in Limerick, it would never happen again because just the damage it does for you. Once bitten twice shy. They don't want to buy a ticket for an event that might not happen. It's always an issue with boxing as well because fights can fall out. It's physical, the training is physical, it always has been. People have spent money on events in the past, they don't happen and then they won't spend it again."
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