Lee fans get ready to rumble in hometown

ANDY LEE revived the fortunes of professional boxing in Limerick yesterday, weeks before he strikes a blow in his big fight scheduled for the University of Limerick arena.

Fans queued in early morning cold and rain when more than 2,000 tickets were sold out within an hour at prices ranging from €60 to €125.

Queues formed outside Empire Music in O’Connell Street while others managed to get a seat via the Ticketmaster website.

Among the first to secure a ticket at Empire Music was Cormac O’Halloran. He was first in when doors opened at 9am. He got to the outlet at 5.30am.

Cormac got a ringside seat and said: “It was well worth the wait. Now I just hope we get our money’s worth and Andy doesn’t knock his opponent out too early in the fight.”

Another fan, Anna Moore from Singland Gardens who is a member of Andy’s old club, St Francis’s, said she will never forget the sight of Andy holding the St Francis flag after his super middleweight victory last month.

Anna said: “Andy is very proud of the club and we’re very proud of him. He’s a fantastic ambassador for the city. It has always been his ambition to come back and fight in his home town.”

The big fight takes place on February 2.

Andy tops a big bill and his opponent has yet to be named.