| Andy Lee | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Andrew Lee |
| Nickname(s) | Irish |
| Rated at | Middleweight |
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Born | 11 June 1984 Bow, London, England, UK |
| Stance | Southpaw |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 28 |
| Wins | 27 |
| Wins by KO | 19 |
| Losses | 1 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 0 |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for Ireland | ||
| Men’s Boxing | ||
| European Championships | ||
| Bronze | 2004 Croatia | Middleweight |
| EU Amateur Championships | ||
| Silver | 2004 Madrid | Middleweight |
Andy Lee (born June 11, 1984 in London), is an Irish professional boxer from Limerick, Ireland who fights in the Middleweight division.[1]
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Lee was born in Bow, London, England to Irish parents. In 1998, his parents returned to Castleconnell, County Limerick, Ireland with their six children.[2][3]
Lee had been boxing at the Repton Boxing Club in London from the age of eight and upon moving to Ireland Lee and his brothers, Tommy and Ned, joined St. Francis ABC in Limerick City where his boxing career took off.[3]
Lee represented Ireland at the 2002 World Junior championships in Santiago de Cuba in the middleweight (75 kg) category. Lee fought five times in a week beating Ismail Sillakh and USA favourite Jesus Gonzales but lost the final to Cuban boxer Noelvis Diaz to claim the silver medal.[2][3]
In February 2003, Lee, aged 17, fought for the Irish senior amateur title in the middleweight division. That year he was beaten in the final by Belfast man Eamonn O'Kane. The following year Lee won the title after overcoming Patrick Murray for the honour and in 2005 Lee retained the title beating O'Kane in the final.[4]
At the 2003 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Bangkok, which doubled up as a qualifier for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Lee was beaten on points by eventual winner Gennady Golovkin by 29:9. Lee's next chance to qualify for the Olympics, came at the 2004 European Amateur Boxing Championships in Pula, Croatia. Lee earned a bronze medal at this competition and thereby qualified, as the only boxer, to represent Ireland at the Olympics.[3]
At the Olympics Lee beat Mexican Alfredo Angulo 38:23 on points in the first round. In the second round Lee faced Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam of Cameroon, after four rounds the fight was drawn 27:27 and the bout was decided by "count-back" and the verdict went the way of the Cameroonian, which ended Lee's hopes of a medal.[2][3] Lee was bitterly disappointed in the result and stated "I just didn’t fight to my ability. But when I got back home the people treated me like I’d won the gold medal."[2][3]
After the Olympics, the Irish Sports Council had stated that they were prepared to fund Lee in order that he could continue and compete at the Beijing Olympics. However, Lee turned this down and signed as a professional with trainer-manager Emanuel Steward, who had followed Lee's progress since the World junior championships. Lee then emigrated to the United States to join Steward's Kronk Gym in Detroit.[3][5]
His first professional bout was in March 2006, at the Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, in which Lee beat Anthony Cannon on a points decision over six rounds on a card that featured Johnathon Banks.
On 15 December 2007, Lee became the Irish Super-middleweight champion after he beat fellow Irishman Jason McKay at the National Stadium in Dublin.
In April 2007, HBO featured Lee as one of boxing's top prospects, with Larry Merchant commenting "he [Lee] looks like 10 million dollars". Star coach Steward has also been quick to praise Lee, claiming on RTE television that by the end of 2008 he would defeat current world champion - Kelly Pavlik.
In December 2007 ESPN also listed Lee as a top prospect saying "Lee has all the potential to be the next great middleweight star. The 2004 Irish Olympian is a 6-2 southpaw with skills, power and a streak as mean in the ring as he is personable outside of it. With trainer/manager Emanuel Steward molding him, Lee is moving quickly. He was 8-0 in 2007, including a thunderous knockout of faded former titleholder Carl Daniels. Lee is as blue chip as they come. If you could get stock in a prospect, he'd be near the top of the buy list."
On March 21, 2008, during his debut on ESPN 2, Lee suffered his first defeat after losing by TKO in the seventh round to Brian Vera. The stoppage was mildly controversial, as Lee was winning on points, and was still punching back as the referee Tony Chiarantano stepped in. However, he had been reeling and unsteady from heavy punishment and fatigue for several minutes, and neither he nor his corner complained at the stoppage.
On July 19, 2008 Andy Lee defeated Willie Gibbs in the last round, when Gibbs's corner threw in the towel after a barrage of shots from Lee with 7 seconds to go.
On March 21, 2009, appearing on the undercard of the Bernard Dunne world title fight against Ricardo Cordoba, Lee beat the tough German brawler Alexander Sipos in a unanimous decision. This was a reckoning of sorts, as it occurred on the one year-to-the-day anniversary of Lee's first and only professional defeat.
On June 20, 2009, Lee outpointed Olegs Fedotovs in front of 60,000+ at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany for his 18th victory as part of the Klitschko-Chagaev undercard. The march continues on for Mr. Lee. He is currently managed by Emanuel Steward and Perry Mandera.
August 22, 2009, Andy stopped Andy Shuler in the 8th round of a bout in Hammond, Indiana to earn his 19th victory and 14th KO.
November 14, 2009, the hometown crowd turned out in Limerick, Ireland to watch Andy Lee defeat Frenchman Affif Belghecham in an eight-round battle of the southpaws. Shannonsider Lee outpointed the Frenchman 99-92; Lee stopped Mamadou Thiam the following year in the same venue.[1]
On 30 July 2010 Andy Lee faced James Cook in Miami, Oklahoma and won the bout by a fifth round knockout.
On March 12, 2011, Andy Lee fought Craig McEwan at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, and won via technical knockout at 0:56 in the 10th round.[6]
He avenged his only loss to Brian Vera on October 1 by unanimous decision.
| 27 Wins (19 knockouts), 1 Loss | |||||||
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round/Time | Date | Location | Notes |
| Win | 27-1 | Brian Vera | UD | 10 | October 1, 2011 | Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Win | 26-1 | Alex Bunema | UD | 10 (10) | May 18, 2011 | Donald Stephens Center, Rosemote, Illinois | |
| Win | 25-1 | Craig McEwan | TKO | 10 (10) 0:56 | March 12, 2011 | Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut | |
| Win | 24-1 | Troy Lowry | TKO | 4 (10) 2:59 | October 2, 2010 | Horseshoe Casino, Hammond, Indiana, United States | |
| Win | 23-1 | Michael Walker | TKO | 8 (10) 2:03 | September 17, 2010 | UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois, United States | |
| Win | 22-1 | James Cook | KO | 5 (8) 2:42 | July 30, 2010 | Buffalo Run Casino, Miami, Oklahoma, United States | |
| Win | 21-1 | Mamadou Thiam | RTD | 2 (10) 3:00 | May 15, 2010 | University Arena, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland | |
| Win | 20-1 | Affif Belghecham | PTS | 10 (10) | November 14, 2009 | University Arena, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland | |
| Win | 19-1 | Anthony Shuler | TKO | 8 (10) 2:05 | August 21, 2009 | Horseshoe Casino, Hammond, Indiana, United States | |
| Win | 18-1 | Olegs Fedotovs | UD | 6 (6) | June 20, 2009 | Veltins Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany | |
| Win | 17-1 | Alexander Sipos | PTS | 10 (10) | March 21, 2009 | The O2, Dublin, Ireland | |
| Win | 16-1 | Willie Gibbs | TKO | 10 (10) 2:46 | July 19, 2008 | University Arena, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland | |
| Loss | 15-1 | Brian Vera | TKO | 7 (10) 2:17 | March 21, 2008 | Mohegan Sun Arena, Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | |
| Win | 15-0 | Alejandro Gustavo Falliga | KO | 5 (10) 1:49 | February 2, 2008 | University Arena, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland | |
| Win | 14-0 | Jason McKay | RTD | 6 (10) 3:00 | December 15, 2007 | National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland | Vacant Irish Super Middleweight Title |
| Win | 13-0 | Marcus Thomas | KO | 1 (10) 1:13 | November 15, 2007 | Compuware Arena, Plymouth, Michigan, United States | |
| Win | 12-0 | James Morrow | TKO | 1 (8) 2:43 | October 2, 2007 | Bourbon Street, Merrionette Park, Illinois, United States | |
| Win | 11-0 | Ciaran Healy | RTD | 4 (8) | August 25, 2007 | The Point, Dublin, Ireland | |
| Win | 10-0 | Thomas Hengstberger | KO | 2 (8) 1:22 | July 7, 2007 | Kolnarena, Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany | |
| Win | 9-0 | Clinton Bonds | TKO | 1 (8) 2:09 | May 18, 2007 | Omni New Daisy Theater, Memphis, Tennessee, United States | |
| Win | 8-0 | Carl Daniels | KO | 3 (8) 2:36 | March 16, 2007 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, United States | |
| Win | 7-0 | Arturo Ortega | TKO | 6 (6) 0:32 | January 25, 2007 | Orleans Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 6-0 | Dennis Sharpe | UD | 6 (6) | November 11, 2006 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, United States | |
| Win | 5-0 | Jess Salway | KO | 1 (4) 1:34 | September 14, 2006 | Orleans Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 4-0 | Carl Cockerham | UD | 6 (6) | August 10, 2006 | Orleans Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 3-0 | Rodney Freeman | TKO | 1 (6) 1:38 | June 16, 2006 | Pepsi Pavilion, Memphis, Tennessee, United States | |
| Win | 2-0 | Wassim Khalil | TKO | 5 (6) 2:51 | April 22, 2006 | SAP-Arena, Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany | |
| Win | 1-0 | Anthony Cannon | UD | 6 (6) | March 10, 2006 | Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan, United States | |