A deal for middleweight titleholder Andy Lee to face former titlist "Kid Chocolate" Peter Quillin is in the works and close to being completed.

It would be ironic if they fight. Quillin gave up the belt last fall -- because manager Al Haymon did not want him to face mandatory challenger Matt Korobov on a Roc Nation Sports card after Roc Nation won the purse bid for nearly $2 million -- and then on Dec. 6 in Las Vegas, Lee won the vacant belt by coming from behind to knock out Korobov in the sixth round.

"It's in discussions and a significant possibility and it will resolve itself very soon," said Lou DiBella, Lee's promoter.

Lee (34-2, 24 KOs) has a mandatory defense due against England's Billy Joe Saunders (21-0, 11 KOs), so there are discussions going on about whether Lee can get an exception or whether Saunders will step aside.

It remains to be seen what will happen, but if there is no deal with the sanctioning body or the Saunders camp, it is possible that Lee would vacate the belt and fight Quillin (31-0, 22 KOs) in a nontitle fight since there is likely a lot more money for him in that fight than against Saunders. Still, whether it's for a belt or not, Lee-Quillin is a very attractive fight.

If Lee-Quillin happens it likely would land as the co-feature on NBC on April 11 on the same card as the Danny Garcia-Lamont Peterson fight. The site is not set but the card likely will be at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, with Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, also mentioned as a possibility. Certainly if the fight is at the Barclays Center, Lee-Quillin makes a lot of sense given that Lee is from Ireland -- and there is a strong Irish community in New York known for supporting Irish fighters -- and Quillin is a New Yorker.