Lee: Thiam fight is a 'must-win'
Limerick boxer Andy Lee has nearly 2lbs on his opponent Mamadou Thiam at today's weigh-in for Saturday's Yanjing Fight Night in Limerick.
The nine-bout card is headlined by Andy Lee's clash with former European champ, Mamadou Thiam.
Lee, who came in at 162.25lbs, said: "This is a must win fight for me. I can't afford any slip-ups and I will have to be wary of Thiam's power.
"He's a dangerous guy and has an awful lot of experience and but these are the kind of fights I need to be winning if I'm going to go on to fight for European and World titles."
Thiam, who wighed 160.5lbs, said: "I'm not here for a holiday, I'm here on business. It's nothing personal between me and Andy Lee but I am very confident that I can win.
"I am punching harder than ever and I can knock guys out with either hand so I won't need to rely on the judges."
The undercard sees Limerick's Jamie Power up against Mayo's John Waldron in the first ever Irish title fight in the Treaty city as they clash for the national Light Heavyweight crown.
Cork-based Cuban sensation Luis Garcia faces the first big test of his career when he faces former Andy Lee opponent Alexander Sipos. The German, a former European title challenger gave Andy Lee 10 very competitive rounds in March of last year eventually losing the The O2 on a points decision and he will fancy his chances of simply knowing too much for Garcia who has only had five professional fights and is still only 21.
European number 3 Andy Murray (Cavan) will look to stretch his perfect pro record to 19 straight wins and push his claims for a shot at namesake and newly crowned European Champ John Murray with a win over Englishman Amir Unsworth on Saturday night.
Unbeaten Cuban Heavyweight prospect Mike Perez is set create history by having two fights in one night at the University Arena. The Mike Tyson lookalike will open the show against Edgar Kalnars and should everything go smoothly in that fight he will be back in the ring for a second time in a matter of hours to take on Tomas Mrazek.
The remainder of the card will see Michael Sweeney look to get over the disappointment of his Irish title bout falling through when he takes on Belfast's Tommy Tolan while in another all-Irish clash Mullingar's Paddy McDonagh takes on former Andy Lee opponent and Irish champ Ciaran Healy in just his third pro fight.
The pro debut of Limerick based Galwegian Alan Donnellan rounds out the card as he takes on England's Ryan Clark.
Doors open at the University Arena from 5pm with the first bout at 6pm.
RTÉ TWO's live coverage of the Yanjing Fight Night starts from 9pm and a full report of Andy Lee's fight and reaction will appear here on breakinnews.ie.
Tickets for the Yanjing Fight Night priced €30, €40, €50, €60, €75 and €100 are available from Ticketmaster (phone 0818 719 300 or visit ticketmaster.ie) or locally in Limerick from The University Sports Arena, the George Hotel and the South Court Hotel.
Andy Lee (162.25) V Mamadou Thiam (160.5) - Middleweight - 10 Rounds
Jamie Power (175) V John Waldron (173.5) - Irish Light Heavyweight Title – 10 Rounds
Luis Garcia (172.5) V Alexander Sipos (172.25) - Super Middleweight – 8 Rounds
Mike Perez (227.25) V Edgar Kalnars (214.25) - Heavyweight – 4 Rounds
Mike Perez (227.25) V Tomas Mrazek (223.5) - Heavyweight – 4 Rounds
Andy Murray (137.5) V Amir Unsworth (137.5) - Lightweight – 6 Rounds
Paddy McDonagh (168.5) V Ciaran Healy (167.25) - Super Middleweight – 6 Rounds
Michael Sweeney (179.5) V Tommy Tolan (178.5) - Light Heavyweight – 6 Rounds
Alan Donnellan (156.25) V Ryan Clark (155.5) - Light Middleweight – 6 Rounds
