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Lee to give fight fans an early Christmas Bonus

posted by mightygloves.com on November 1, 2007, in The Kronk Connection

Photo by Chris McGee

Middleweight sensation Andy Lee will give Irish fight fans an early Christmas bonus when he headlines the Ladbrokes.com Fight Night at the National Stadium, Dublin on December 15th.

The pre Christmas bash is the first fight in a new agreement with Brian Peters Promotions that will see Lee feature on a regular basis on this side of the Atlantic.

The undefeated Limerick southpaw is of the hottest things to come out of not just Irish, but world boxing in recent years. Despite being just over a year into his professional career Lee has already been profiled by leading U.S. broadcaster HBO as one of the 5 best prospects in world boxing.

However the Shannonsider is now well used to the plaudits having already established himself as a familiar face with boxing fans Stateside. Lee’s profile has been hugely helped by his involvement with legendary U.S. fight trainer, Emanuel Steward. The Detroit native has brought the likes of Tommy “Hitman” Hearns, Oscar De La Hoya, Lennox Lewis, Julio Cesar Chavez, Wladimir Klitschko, Evander Holyfield and Naseem Hamed to world titles. And he’s predicting Lee will not only join that list but go on to become the best of them all.

Steward enthused, “I honestly believe Andy will go on to become not just a great Irish fighter but a great fighter period. He has so much ability and I was watching him for a long, long time before he finally made the decision to move to the Kronk Gym in Detroit to train with me.

“He has so much potential and he’s such a marketable guy, he’s good looking, he has the gift of the gab and he has time for everyone bust most importantly he can fight.”

In fact Steward is so confident in his protégé’s ability that he allows him to spar with current heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko despite the fact the giant Ukrainian has a six stone advantage over Lee.

Lee travels the world with Steward attending training camps across the globe and picking up invaluable experience as he quickly rises through the world middleweight rankings. In his 18 months in the pro ranks Lee has chalked up a dozen straight wins including a successful homecoming at the Point last August in front of a sold out crowd and hundreds of thousands of viewers watching live on RTÉ.

Now Lee can’t wait to do it all again on December 15th. “The reception I got at the Point in August was terrific and I relay enjoyed the night. I’m looking forward to fighting back home on a more regular basis now and this deal with Brian gives me the opportunity to do just that.

“I’ve learned so much from Emanuel since turning professional and it’s been a terrific experience. I’ve had to sacrifice home comforts by moving to Detroit and I do miss home but these are the things you have to do if you want to make it to the very top in this business.

The 23-year-old continued, “Obviously the objective is to be up there challenging for a world title at some point. I’m not rushing anything but everything is going pretty smoothly at the moment.”

Promoter Brian Peters says he’s delighted to be able to showcase Andy’s skills to Irish fight fans. “There’s no doubt that Andy has all the makings of a real star and in Emanuel Steward he’s in the best possible hands to fulfil the huge potential that he has. I’m delighted to be working with Andy and with Ladbrokes on board as sponsors and RTÉ televising I’ve no doubt we’ll be able to help turn Andy into a household name.”

Lee’s potential has been clear since he travelled to Cuba in 2001 to win silver at the World Junior championships. He followed that up with a bronze in the 2003 European Championships before travelling to the Athens Olympics in 2004 and eventually turning professional in March of last year.

Lee’s opponent for the December 15th bout will be confirmed shortly. The undercard will feature current Irish middleweight champion Matthew Macklin. The Birmingham based Irishman is fresh from an impressive win over Alessio Furlan at the National Stadium last month and he’ll be hoping that the venue continues to be a happy hunting ground for him next month.

An Irish title fight on the undercard will see Eugene Heagney and Colin Moffett clash for the Irish super bantamweight title in a rematch of a thrilling contest at the National Stadium in July. Heagney came out on top in that one taking a narrow points win but with the Irish title on the line Moffett will be even more fired up for the return.

The card also features undefeated prospects, Declan Timlin, Michael Sweeney, Lukasz Wawrzyczek and Paul Truscott.

Tickets for the Ladrokes.com Fight Night priced from €40 will go on sale from 9am next Thursday (November 8th) from Ticketmaster.ie and all usual outlets

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