Lee ready for battle after tussle with Taylor

ANDY LEE goes into his third professional fight in Memphis tonight confident he can live with the best in the middleweight division.

The unbeaten Limerick southpaw fights a decidedly average-looking journeyman in William Johnson, a Mississippi boxer with six wins, six defeats and a draw on his pro record, including a 39-second knockout defeat to Derry’s John Duddy in New York 19 months ago.

While he will take nothing for granted against the 25-year-old, the calibre of Lee’s preparation for the contest clearly has the former Irish Olympian targeting more meaningful contests.