Old friends are best as Lee set for Sipos reunion
Lee was a late addition to an already packed undercard to the Bernard Dunne world title challenge after a scheduled headline appearance at Madison Square Garden fell through last week.
Now the Limerick southpaw will look to continue his rise to the top of the middleweight division with a win over Sipos, who has a enjoyed successful career both in the amateur and pro ranks courtesy of a World Military gold medal and a challenge for the European middleweight title as a pro.
The two men are already familiar with each other, having sparred at a Wladimir Klitschko training camp in Austria last year. Lee’s trainer, the legendary Emanuel Steward, was very impressed with Sipos during those sessions and invited the German to train at his famous Kronk Gym in Detroit.
While Sipos never made it to Motown, he’s coming to Dublin and planning on making Steward wish he’d never set eyes on him.
Promoter Brian Peters believes that Sipos could be a real danger to Lee’s title ambitions. “I saw some of their sparring sessions in Austria and Sipos is a very, very good fighter but having been in there with him Andy knows that better than anyone,” he said.
The Munich fighter has 19 wins and two draws from his 26 pro outings and his only stoppage defeat came courtesy of an elbow injury.
Peters believes a win over Sipos will allow Lee to leapfrog the European ratings.
“I think Andy proved last time out in Limerick just how good a fighter he is when he stopped Willie Gibbs,” said Peters in a reference to Lee’s thrilling win over the Philadelphia dangerman last July. “If we get half as good a fight at The O2 next weekend it will lift the roof off the place and really whet the appetite for the main event.”
That main event will create history as for the first time ever a Dubliner challenges for a world title in his native city with Bernard Dunne bidding for Ricardo Cordoba’s WBA World title.
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