Sparring partners give Lee an edge as he prepares for big guns

ANDY LEE will again reap the benefits of signing up with Hall Of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward when he begins training with undisputed world middleweight champion Jermain Taylor in Detroit next week.

Middleweight southpaw Lee, aged 21, is currently relaxing at his family’s home in Limerick after taking his professional record to 2-0 with a fifth-round knockout of Berlin-based Turk Wassim Khalil in Germany at the weekend. Preparing for that fight, the 2004 Irish Olympian had been put through his paces by fellow Kronk Gym team-mates Kermit Cintron, the No 2 welterweight in the world, and heavyweight superstar Wladimir Klitschko during a month-long training camp in Majorca.

When Lee returns to his base in the Motor City he will pick up where he left off by joining the training camp of Taylor as the champion prepares to take on Ronald ‘Winky’ Wright in Memphis on June 17.

“Emanuel is training Taylor for his ‘Winky’ Wright fight and I’ll be a part of that camp,” Lee said. “I’ll be sparring with Taylor and it will help him because Wright is a southpaw too.”

The Irish boxer believes his experience in the Klitschko training camp in Majorca, where he sparred regularly with Cintron and went four rounds daily with the Ukrainian ahead of the heavyweight’s successful title challenge to IBF champion Chris Byrd, was a great help to his own preparations.

“The training camp stood to us all,” said Lee. “Me and Kermit are great friends but we killed each other sparring, while Wladimir told me on Saturday night that the work I put in with him really helped him with Byrd. He said that after sparring with me he was much sharper and Byrd was much slower in comparison. He could see everything that was coming.” Now Lee is looking forward to his chance to mix it with the champion of his own division after Taylor decided to bring in Steward last week.

“Jermain wanted to come to Detroit and train at the Kronk with Emanuel, which is great for everyone at the gym, especially all the kids Emanuel trains. It will be good for me as well, sparring with the world champion in my division, a chance to judge where I’m at and gauge how far I’ve got to go.”

An extra bonus is a fight of his own in Memphis this summer.