Billy Joe Saunders (l) and Andy Lee before their Dec. fight. Photo courtesy of Frank Warren.

Billy Joe Saunders is off the Canelo Alvarez Sept. 17  undercard on HBO PPV after turning down Gabriel Rosado as an opponent, though a match between Saunders and Canelo is still a possibility for December, Eric Gomez, VP of Golden Boy told RingTV.com on Thursday.

Saunders-Rosado was penciled in as the co-feature to Alvarez’s junior middleweight title fight with Liam Smith. But Saunders’ refusal to face Rosado, as well as other opponents made it impossible to complete a deal, Gomez said. Now Golden Boy is trying to figure out which fight will serve as the co-feature after heavyweight Luis Ortiz’s proposed bout with Alexander Ustinov also fell apart in negotiations earlier this month.

Saunders, who holds a middleweight title and hasn’t fought since last December, reportedly turned down the fight because he didn’t think Rosado (23-9, 13 knockouts) was capable enough with nine losses, though his defeats have come against blue-chip talent. Philly’s Rosado blasted Saunders on social media for bypassing such an opportunity. “Excuses in y he turned down the fight r pathetic,” Rosado tweeted on Thursday. “HBO payperview. It gets no bigger then that #Coward”.

Saunders (23-0, 12 knockouts) sought to reassure those who have questioned his rationale for rejecting Rosado and the Sept. 17 date. “Don’t believe everything your told,” he tweeted. “I’ll be in the Ring very soon.” Despite the inability of making a fight with Saunders for Sept. 17, Gomez is holding out hope that Saunders will be available for a December showdown with Alvarez at middleweight, provided that Alvarez gets by Smith.