By Joseph Herron: When young Irish fighter Andy Lee initiated his professional career in 2006, expectations were high. The world of boxing was enamored by the natural athleticism and powerful left hand of the 6’2” Irish middleweight. For the next two years, Lee quickly racked up a 15-0 record with 10 knock-outs and seemed to be well on his way to super-stardom. Lee’s “Hall of Fame” trainer and manager Manny Steward predicted that the young Irishman would become the universally recognized middleweight champion by the end of 2008.
It’s 2011, and Andy Lee still awaits that distinction.
On March 21st, 2008, the Irish southpaw was scheduled to face Brian Vera on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights in what was billed as the American television debut of the “next great middleweight”. The Austin, TX native was expected to be a minor footnote on the brilliant career of a future Champion. Apparently, someone forgot to deliver that memo to Brian before the fight. Vera shocked the boxing world by weathering “Hurricane Andy” in the first round, eventually stopping the Irish prospect in seven.
The Andy Lee express had officially been derailed from the tracks that lead to boxing prominence.
Or has it?
The Irish southpaw has trudged up the hill again by stringing together an impressive streak of ten consecutive victories since his stunning loss on national network television.
Last Saturday night, on the undercard of the Sergio Martinez/Sergiy Dzinziruk bout, Andy Lee received an opportunity for redemption when he faced undefeated fighter Craig McEwan from Scotland. Like Vera, McEwan is a rugged fighter with a great chin.
But unlike his loss in 2008, Lee didn’t fail to cross the finish line. He struggled early but eventually knocked out the undefeated Scotsman in dramatic fashion in front of a large HBO audience.
Although there were some dangerous moments for the Irish southpaw, Lee showed a lot of heart and toughness during his battle with Craig McEwan; variables that we haven’t seen in any of Andy’s previous fights.
Lee showed us that he can fight through adversity…even if it is self inflicted.
During the first round of the “Celtic War”, Lee wobbled McEwan with a short right hook, but the Irish southpaw couldn’t take advantage of his perfectly timed punch. Instead, Lee’s right hook had an adverse effect on the fight.
“I hurt him early and I tried to put him away for the fans, so I was loading up with one punch during the first 4 or 5 rounds,” explains the Irish fighter. “Once you get into a habit of throwing one punch at a time, it’s hard to stop. My corner was telling me that I had to start throwing in combination, but I just wasn’t doing it,” admits Lee. “Hurting him early actually worked against me.”
Lee looked to be in serious trouble in the fifth and sixth rounds. The Irish hopeful was in jeopardy of blowing his big chance for recognition as a legitimate contender. With his corner screaming instruction at him, Andy Lee had decided that he wasn’t about to let this opportunity slip away…not again.
“I knew I was losing the fight,” explained Lee, “I told myself that I wasn’t going to let this happen. I wasn’t going to let him win by simply out-working me…I had to take him to the streets and show him that I was prepared to fight.”
That’s precisely what Andy did.
In the late rounds of the fight, Andy started to put his punches together and turned the momentum of the fight in his favor.
“I started to listen to my corner and started using my jab more; throwing in combination,” states Lee. “I think I broke his spirit in the ninth.”
Andy finally put together two beautiful combinations to floor the Scotsman late in the ninth round.
“I knew that I had to do something dramatic, and fortunately for me, it happened.”
Lee would carry that momentum into the tenth round and brutally stop McEwan with a perfect overhand left.
“I knew that I had broken him, I just had to reach out and take it at that point,” explains the Irish southpaw.
Andy had finally shown his detractors that he could indeed fight through adversity; that he was mentally capable of coming from behind to win a tough fight against a durable opponent.
So what’s next for the contender from Ireland?
“I was shooting for a fight with Martinez, but maybe I have to work a little harder for that one,” acknowledges Lee. “I think about my first fight with Brian Vera all the time. Maybe a rematch with him would be in order.”
After Vera’s victory over the favored Sergio Mora in February, Andy might be right.
Will the Irish fighter issue a challenge to Brian Vera and attempt to put the ghost of his past to rest once and for all?
It will be interesting to see what happens in the next chapter of Andy Lee’s dramatic life story, but one thing is certain, no one can accuse the Irish fighter of having no heart ever again.
After last Saturday night, with his courageous performance, Lee has finally become a legitimate contender in the eyes of the boxing community.
Please send your comments and questions to herron.joseph2112@att.net
Joseph Herron is the San Antonio Boxing Examiner at www.examiner.com/boxing-in-san-antonio