It has been a long hard road for Lee to get to this exact point on Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue. Since turning pro in 2006 he has seen 36 bouts with just two defeats. Here’s a few stand-out moments in Lee’s journey from Olympian to champion of the world via headlines and undercards in Detroit, Memphis, Miami, Cologne, Limerick, Dublin and Las Vegas.
Round 1: Up and running in Motor City
Two years after being Ireland’s sole boxer at the 2004 Olympics, Lee made his professional debut in his adopted home town of Detroit. Lee won a points decision over six rounds against Anthony Cannon.
AP / Press Association Images
AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
Round 2: Sharpe focus
Eight months and five fights into his professional career, Lee walked into Madison Square Garden for the first time. Another unanimous points decision over Dennis Sharpe brought his record to 6 – 0.
AP / Press Association Images
AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
Round 3: Making a name
Back in the Garden on St Patrick’s weekend, 2007, Lee’s fifth stoppage in eight fights came against former national featherweight champ, Carl Daniels.
AP / Press Association Images
AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
Round 4: Dublin calling
Lee claimed his first belt in December 2007. The Irish Super Middleweight title was won at the expense of Co. Down’s Jason McKay in the National Stadium.
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James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Round 5: A sort of homecoming
In February 2008, Lee fought in Limerick for the first time since becoming a pro. Argentine Alejandro Gustavo Falinga was KOd in the fifth at UL.
James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Round 6: Tasting adversity
Between wins in Limerick, Lee lost for the first time when Brian Vera stopped him after seven rounds in Connecticut. In March 2009, Lee took Alexander Sipos to The Point and, despite the below wobble, defeated the German on points.
James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Round 7: Home comfort
After beating Sipos, Lee headed off on the road again with wins in Gelsenkichen and Indiana before two fights in in six months in Limerick; the second was May 2010, when he made his record 21 – 1 with a stoppage of Mamadou Thiam.
In 2011, on a midsummer midweek card in Rosemount, Illinois, Limerick’s Andy Lee won a unanimous decision over Alex Bunema to become the North American Boxing Federation’s middleweight champion.
Round 9: Settling scores
With another belt to polish, Lee’s next outing would see him exact revenge for the only defeat on his 27 – 1 record with a unanimous decision over Brian Vera in Atlantic City.
AP / Press Association Images
AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
Round 10: A world title shot
After setting out to box clever on the big stage in El Paso, Lee was drawn into a brawl. By the seventh round, however, the power of Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr proved too much and the world title dream was put on ice for another day.
“If I lost them, I was seriously considering retiring,” Lee said this week about last year’s fights with John Jackson and Matt Korobov.
“I knew that was going to be my last chance at becoming a world champion. It’s very rare that people get three chances at a world title.”
With that in the back of his mind in Madison Square Garden, a weaker fighter would have panicked after getting knocked down in the first round by Jackson…
AP / Press Association Images
AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
Instead, Lee rose. Lee absorbed further punishment from the Virgin Islander on a hot New York night, knowing that as long as he was still on his feet, he had a chance.
In the fifth, Lee was in full survival mode when he took his opportunity.
That guy in the second row definitely didn't see it coming. AP / Press Association Images
AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
Round 12: Crowning glory
Eight years and 36 fights after he stepped in to the ring in Detroit, Andy Lee became WBO middleweight champion of the world.
Raymond Spencer / INPHO
Raymond Spencer / INPHO / INPHO
Another impressive lightning strike while in fluid motion rocked Russia’s Matt Korborov before Lee moved in to seal the sixth-round finish.
12 fights that shaped Andy Lee's career
TONIGHT, LIMERICK’S Andy Lee takes to the ring to face Peter Quillin in New York.
However, the fight won”t now be a title fight after the American fighter failed to make weight at the weigh-ins on Friday evening and regardless of the result, Lee will retain his WBO Middleweight belt.
It has been a long hard road for Lee to get to this exact point on Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue. Since turning pro in 2006 he has seen 36 bouts with just two defeats. Here’s a few stand-out moments in Lee’s journey from Olympian to champion of the world via headlines and undercards in Detroit, Memphis, Miami, Cologne, Limerick, Dublin and Las Vegas.
Round 1: Up and running in Motor City
Two years after being Ireland’s sole boxer at the 2004 Olympics, Lee made his professional debut in his adopted home town of Detroit. Lee won a points decision over six rounds against Anthony Cannon.
Round 2: Sharpe focus
Eight months and five fights into his professional career, Lee walked into Madison Square Garden for the first time. Another unanimous points decision over Dennis Sharpe brought his record to 6 – 0.
Round 3: Making a name
Back in the Garden on St Patrick’s weekend, 2007, Lee’s fifth stoppage in eight fights came against former national featherweight champ, Carl Daniels.
Round 4: Dublin calling
Lee claimed his first belt in December 2007. The Irish Super Middleweight title was won at the expense of Co. Down’s Jason McKay in the National Stadium.
Round 5: A sort of homecoming
In February 2008, Lee fought in Limerick for the first time since becoming a pro. Argentine Alejandro Gustavo Falinga was KOd in the fifth at UL.
Round 6: Tasting adversity
Between wins in Limerick, Lee lost for the first time when Brian Vera stopped him after seven rounds in Connecticut. In March 2009, Lee took Alexander Sipos to The Point and, despite the below wobble, defeated the German on points.
Round 7: Home comfort
After beating Sipos, Lee headed off on the road again with wins in Gelsenkichen and Indiana before two fights in in six months in Limerick; the second was May 2010, when he made his record 21 – 1 with a stoppage of Mamadou Thiam.
Round 8: Green card for title chase
In 2011, on a midsummer midweek card in Rosemount, Illinois, Limerick’s Andy Lee won a unanimous decision over Alex Bunema to become the North American Boxing Federation’s middleweight champion.
Round 9: Settling scores
With another belt to polish, Lee’s next outing would see him exact revenge for the only defeat on his 27 – 1 record with a unanimous decision over Brian Vera in Atlantic City.
Round 10: A world title shot
After setting out to box clever on the big stage in El Paso, Lee was drawn into a brawl. By the seventh round, however, the power of Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr proved too much and the world title dream was put on ice for another day.
Round 11: Turning it all around
“If I lost them, I was seriously considering retiring,” Lee said this week about last year’s fights with John Jackson and Matt Korobov.
With that in the back of his mind in Madison Square Garden, a weaker fighter would have panicked after getting knocked down in the first round by Jackson…
Instead, Lee rose. Lee absorbed further punishment from the Virgin Islander on a hot New York night, knowing that as long as he was still on his feet, he had a chance.
In the fifth, Lee was in full survival mode when he took his opportunity.
Round 12: Crowning glory
Eight years and 36 fights after he stepped in to the ring in Detroit, Andy Lee became WBO middleweight champion of the world.
Another impressive lightning strike while in fluid motion rocked Russia’s Matt Korborov before Lee moved in to seal the sixth-round finish.
That’s the making of a champion.
‘People are what they consistently do’: How Andy Lee changed since becoming world champ
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