Lee ready to return to the big time

FOLLOWING a surprise defeat in his last outing, boxer Andy Lee has chosen a tough comeback assignment, with the announcement at King John’s Castle in Limerick yesterday that his next opponent will be Philadelphian Willie Gibbs (20-3), at the UL Arena on Saturday July 19.

Though beaten in his last two outings, until mid-2006 Gibbs was seen as a rising star in the States and those two losses were against top-10 opponents, his last outing a ten-round points loss to Raymond Juval.

Going by his reaction to this fight, the American has suffered no downturn in confidence.