Andy Lee: Making the Irish Proud and Then Some

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By “Big” Bill Bradshaw

Photo Credit: Sean Curtian

I’d like to begin by offering my sincerest congratulations to Andy Lee for winning the WBO World Middleweight title on December 13th. As a fight fan, an Irishman and a Limerick man, I could never find the words to describe the moment when Lee rocked Korobov with that thunderous punch and carried an entire nation to ecstasy with the lethal combination that followed. It was a moment that Irish boxing fans will never forget and I am proud, as always, to be part of that collective.

Regardless of what the future may hold for Andy, Billy Joe Saunders has been mentioned as well as Miguel Cotto and GGG, at the time of this article Andy Lee is the WBO Middleweight champion of the world and no one can ever take that away from him. But I will be the first to admit that, over the past few years, I had expected a 160lb title belt would come to our shores in the hands of another.

Lee first came to prominence under the guidance of the late and truly great Emanuel Steward. At that time John Duddy and Matthew Macklin were our best hopes for a title and Lee was a most welcome addition to the list. Of the three, I had seen Macklin as the best all round middleweight of the group with Duddy a close second. “Mack the Knife” had speed, power, a solid defense and he was an aggressive, come forward fighter that excited when he had the want to. His weakness, as we all know, was his stamina and it proved to be his downfall on more than one occasion. Saying that, I thought he beat Felix Sturm that summers night in 2011 but the record books will forever state differently. Duddy was a pocket rocket with power and he gave Julio Cesar Chavez, JR. a run for his money when they traded blows for the WBC Silver belt in 2010. Had he fought a lesser fighter on the night, the Derry man would have taken a title he so richly deserved. But in the end it was Lee, the gentleman that he is, who took the glory and no one other than those in the Korobov camp would begrudge him his moment.

At one time, Irish promoter Brian Peters had proposed a ‘middleweight box off’ between the three and, though I had hoped it would happen, it was probably for the best that it didn’t. Duddy got his title tilt against Chavez, JR. and, upon retiring, has gone on to great reviews as an actor. He is currently starring in the upcoming US sitcom “Surviving Sam” alongside another former Irish ring warrior turned actor and RSR Supporter, Seamus McDonagh. 2015 may hold cinematic success for both men on the set of the upcoming feature film ‘A Jailers Tale’, a raw and uncompromising insight into the lives of correctional officers, scheduled to film in the autumn.

Following his recent shock defeat to Jorge Sebastian Heiland, Macklin finds himself at a crossroads in his career. Had he won that fight, and he was strongly favored to do so, the showdown with Lee would have been a St Patrick’s Day blockbuster in Dublin or New York but, alas, it was not to be. Should he fight on, he has a long road back but, should he retire as he may now do, his gym in Marbella, Spain will keep him busy with its popularity amongst British and Irish fighters. For me, Macklin was the nearly man and, that he would retire without winning a title is both sad and deeply disappointing.

As for Andy Lee, our world champion, and I can’t stop saying that, the future is bright. A defense against Billy Joe Saunders in Dublin or even Limerick will be a great night for the Irish and I think Lee has the beating of the Hatfield man. Saunders is a clever boxer as he showed against Chris Eubank, JR. but Lee will pose problems that the one dimensional Eubank simply couldn’t. Should Lee retain his title on the night, a unification bout with Golovkin would surely follow and though my heart would be with Andy, my money and anything I could beg, borrow or steal would go on GGG. Still, there would be a well deserved pay day for Lee and he has already achieved what he and Steward set out to do way back in the early days.

As a footnote, I’d like to mention another Irish middleweight, Gary ‘Spike’ O’ Sullivan. Gary’s only defeat was to the afore mentioned Billy Joe Saunders and his recent stunning one round destruction of the teak tough Anthony Fitzgerald, who gave Lee one helluva fight, was a shot across the bows that next wave of Irish middleweight starts on the banks of the River Lee in Cork.

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