William “Caveman” Lee Remembered: When the Middleweight Division was Deep with Talent

By Ian “The Boxing Historian” Murphy

“Better to burn out, than to fade away”. These words from the immortal songsmith Neil Young described perfectly the exciting, yet troubled career of 1980s Middleweight banger William “Caveman” Lee. He was born in 1956 in Detroit, and raised in Philadelphia to love boxing by his first manager, his father. The elder Lee also used to train future Gold Medalist and two-division champion Michael Spinks. When his dad could not bring him along properly, “Caveman” (a nickname given to him for the wild way he wore his sideburns) Lee went to Detroit’s Kronk Gym in 1977. Here he was the beneficiary of top instruction from Emanuel Steward (who helped harness his natural power) and was fortunate to have world class teammates to hone his skills on like Thomas Hearns, Hilmer Kenty, Duane Thomas and Ron Johnson. This great training environment enabled Lee to steamroll most of his early opponents, winning 13 of 14 fights with all but one of his victories coming by way of knockout.

After his impressive start, Lee hit his first true roadblock fighting fellow contender Frank “The Animal” Fletcher in July, 1980, losing by 4th round TKO. Lee bounced back in a big way, rattling off 8 wins in a row, all by KO. Among Lee’s victims on his way up was Mexican Champion Marcos Geraldo, who gave Middleweight king Marvin Hagler a real tough fight. Geraldo also took Sugar Ray Leonard a hard 10 rounds, and later fought and lost to Thomas Hearns by KO. This was a true test for the Caveman. The hard punching Lee dusted off Geraldo in one round, showcasing his big power and cementing his contendership.

During this knockout streak, Lee had perhaps his best and most famous fight (besides his later match with Hagler) against fellow Michiganite John LoCicero. This fight was action packed from the opening bell. LoCicero hit Lee with everything but the kitchen sink, but Caveman hung in there and finished the tough LoCicero in round 5. ESPN analyst Al Bernstein (who was covering the event) said “in the fifth round, John LoCicero and Caveman Lee put on a round of boxing that was just beyond belief. First, LoCicero went down, got up, and hit Lee with like twenty-five unanswered punches. It was ridiculous. LoCicero ultimately got knocked out in that round and it was about as exciting as anything I’ve ever seen.”This string of victories led Lee to top contender status, just behind Kronk teammate Mickey Goodwin.

Fortune smiled on the 26 year old Lee after stablemate Goodwin could not fight champion Marvin Hagler due to a hand injury. The Caveman stepped up on short notice and went to war with the Marvelous One. He gave a great effort, taking it to the champion, but ultimately Hagler’s heat was too much. Unfortunately for Lee, he was starched by Hagler in one round, ending the fight being held up by the ropes, unconscious. After the fight, there were traces of drugs found in Lee’s urine sample, a dark foreshadowing of what was to come. Lee was never the same after that, not fighting for four years, being in and out of prison. This increasing dependency on illegal substances ruined him financially and it made Lee come back briefly in the mid 1980s. He retired for good in 1988, losing by 3d round KO to Yawe Davis.

After his once promising career sputtered and died, the lure of drugs and the dangerous lifestyle that comes with them continued to prove irresistible to William Lee, and it led to more time behind bars. One was for twelve years (1994-2006). Lee never realized his true potential as a fighter, yet finished with a very respectable 23-4 record with 21 wins coming by way of knockout, showcasing his power. He had the power and talent to be more than he was, but the drugs ruined his career. Today, William has gotten his life together and is sober, working, and happily married. Since his release from prison in 2006, Lee had also helped out Emanuel Steward at the Kronk until he passed away in 2012.

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