Andy Lee still guided by spirit of late Detroit trainer Emanuel Steward
It was one year ago on Sunday that Lee claimed the belt, by beating Matt Korobov in stunning fashion at the Cosmopolitan hotel of Las Vegas, bringing an end to a nine-year professional quest to claim a world crown.
He was scheduled to defend it back in April but, when his opponent Peter ‘Kid Chocolate’ Quillin failed to make the weight, their contest became a non-title fight. The pair boxed to a draw in New York.
That means tomorrow’s clash with Billy Joe Saunders, itself twice postponed and taking place three months later than originally planned, will be the first time Lee officially puts that burgundy-brown WBO middleweight strap on the line. This month has also brought up 10 years since the southpaw from Limerick decided to turn pro under the tutelage of late, Detroit trainer Emanuel Steward.
The decade that followed was punctuated by some low points, a pair of seventh round stoppage defeats — to Brian Vera and then Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, paled into insignificance alongside the loss of Steward in October 2012 after a short fight with colon cancer. But his decision to join Adam Booth paid swift dividends as he claimed the world title within two years of his relocation to London. Reflecting on his first year as champion, Lee said: “It’s been a great year and I’m very proud to be a champion, to call myself a champion and carry that title everywhere I go.
“It was December 2005 that I signed with Emanuel. At that time I didn’t imagine it would go the way it has. I was young, I was cocky and I was never ready. I had those losses but the way it all worked out, it couldn’t have worked out better.
“I probably wouldn’t have written it to work out this way, I would’ve wanted to win it straight away. But the way it has gone, it has all worked out perfectly. It has worked out beautifully, that I’ve become a champion at the end of it. It has made me appreciate it more.
“Had I got it earlier, maybe I would not be the person I am now. I was arrogant, I was cocky, I was young. Who knows how it would have affected me had I not had those losses? I believe I’m a better person now.”
Lee says life has not changed much since he achieved his life goal. “It’s not like ‘oh it’s so amazing’ — life doesn’t change that much and for any young man out there, who is working hard for something, don’t think your life is going to be that much better once you’ve done it, and that all your problems are going to be gone.
“When you wake up, you still have your problems but, being able to call yourself a champion is a great feeling.”
When he claimed the title by stopping Korobov in the sixth round of their Vegas showdown, Lee immediately dedicated the win to his former mentor Steward, whose widow Marie was sat ringside at the Chelsea Ballroom that night.
And he says the spirit of the famous Kronk gym will be with him again when he faces undefeated Saunders tomorrow night. When asked whether he still thinks about Steward, he said: “All the time, yeah, everyday. I think about him all the time. He was a big presence in my life: outside of my parents, he’s the biggest influence in my life.
“It’s great that I could do it for him eventually. I stay in touch with his family still, Sugar Hill, his assistant trainer is coming to the fight and I got a message from his sister Diane wishing me luck. I still keep good ties with all of them. They’re family and they’re happy I still represent Kronk everywhere I go.”
And, although the fight has been postponed twice, Lee says it will not take any of the shine off his first defence.
“I knew it would come,” he said. “It was just a matter of when. Everything that has gone on is in history and it doesn’t really matter. It’s all about the here and now.
“It’s going to be a great end to the year for me personally, to defend my title, I’ve been champion for a year and then I can enjoy Christmas.”
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