by Geoffrey Ciani – Middleweight contender Andy Lee (24-1, 18 KOs) has long desired an opportunity to have a rematch against Bryan Vera (17-5, 11 KOs) who was the only fighter to defeat him in his professional career. Perhaps the chance he has been waiting for has finally arrived. Vera was originally slated to take on former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik on November 13 at Cowboys Stadium as part of the Pacquiao-Margarito under card. Pavlik was forced to pull out of the fight after suffering torn cartilage on the right side of his rib cage, and Vera was subsequently scratched from the card. There is, however, some hope that Vera can remain on the card in a fight that is far more enticing than a match with Pavlik—a rematch with Andy Lee.
I spoke to Andy and asked him if he would be interested in stepping in for Pavlik to face off against Vera. “Oh definitely, yeah”, said Lee. “That’s a fight that I’ve been wanting for awhile, especially since he has a win over me in my only defeat. I would like an opportunity to avenge that defeat. I’m in training, anyway. I got a fight coming up December 11 and if there was a chance for me to take the spot, I would be happy to step in and challenge Bryan Vera.”
When asked if he would be fully prepared on just ten days notice, Lee assured me this would not be an issue. “Yeah, I’ve been active lately. I had a couple of fights in October and late September, so I’ve been in shape”, stated Lee. “I haven’t really gotten out of shape. I’ve been sparring already. If this opportunity came and if we got a phone call, we would definitely take the fight. If there’s a chance, I think a lot of people are still interested in it. They want to see if that was a fluke. I don’t believe he should have beaten me, but he did beat me. It was a bad night for me. I think it makes for a good clash of styles and a good rematch.”
Lee has long desired this rematch and redemption. “It would mean a lot to me to avenge my only loss and to beat the guy that beat me.” Lee continued, “Like the great champions, like Lennox Lewis beat the guys that beat him. He came back and beat those guys. In the second fight the best fighter always wins it seems. Anybody can get lucky once, but over two fights the better fighter comes out winning. So I would like the chance to get that revenge, but if it doesn’t happen now it will happen in the future. Hopefully me and Bryan will clash again and we’ll find out who really is the best.”
Whether or not this fight can be made on short notice for November 13 remains to be seen. It would, however, be a very compelling match-up that fight fans have long had an interest in seeing. The history between these two fighters makes this a most intriguing scenario. Vera has shown a reluctance to face Lee in a rematch in the past, probably due to the fact that Vera’s entire reputation was largely based on that one victory. This time, perhaps the timing is finally right and we can see these two do battle again. After all, a fight between Lee and Vera is far more promising than any other potential under card fights that can be put together on such short notice.
In conclusion Lee stated, “When we fought the first time he was very prepared and I give him all the credit in the world for that, but I believe that if we fought again I would be the winner.”
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