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.