Lee shows off the finer points
The 20-year-old Limerick man boxed with a maturity beyond his years, punching with deadly accuracy, putting two and three punch combinations together with a consummate ease and boxing with a flamboyance that had those around long enough to remember Montreal in 1976, comparing him with the legendary Sugar Ray Leonard.
Every now and again a boxer comes along who can take the sport to the level of showmanship and Lee is one of those; if you want excitement, he can provide that, but if you want to explore the technical side of his art he can do that too.
Lee went to the ringside looking like a man fulfilling destiny. He smiled to family, fans and friends from the St. Francis club in Limerick. His Mexican opponent, in total contrast, made his first Olympic appearance to a wall of silence and, if he found himself somewhat alone, he was even more isolated when he launched an early challenge.
Lee parried an opening flurry, stepped back and was two points up in the blink of an eye, scoring with two left hands that rocked his opponent.
Lopez still came forward, bustling, hooking but swinging mostly at air as Lee floated out of danger, picking him off with some perfectly placed punches to the head and body.
Another big left hand staggered the Mexican and a couple of combinations drew single points from the judges while a right hand to the head, left the Mexican with a cut over his left eye at the bell when Lee led 11-4.
"I felt maybe he should have got a standing count. I was catching him with some big shots," said Lee. "And normally when a boxer gets a cut eye early on in the contest, the referee stops the fight and takes a look at it but he didn't this time."Lopez rallied and went after Lee, throwing punches from all angles but the Limerick man bobbed and weaved, only shipping one or two.
"He was strong coming forward," Lee said. "He threw some good shots, but his style suited me and I did what I had to do. He was behind every round so I knew he was going to come out and throw a lot more shots and try to win the fight. I was putting combinations together  twos and threes  and I was catching him. He still kept coming. He was here to win."
Lee now showed the finer points that help make the complete boxer. He took a couple of big shots to the chin as the Mexican stalked him and tried to cut him off, but he never flinched. He won the round 12-9.
From there on it was one way traffic.
"Really I did what I wanted to do," Lee said. "After the first round it was my fight to lose. I just stuck to the plan. Billy Walsh told me to punch and move, keep changing direction, pick the points and it worked a treat."
Lee's next contest will be against Hassan Ndam Njikan of Cameroon, who caused an upset against Juan Jose Ubaldo from the Dominican Republic, winning on countback after tying 22-22 at the end of a brawl.
"It was something we had not bargained for," said Walsh. "The African is very tough. He's a war horse, very physical. Andy is technically better but this guy is going to push him and shove him and try to rough-house him out of the fight. We just have to make sure that does not happen."
Victory next Saturday evening will send Lee into the battle for the medals, probably against European champion, Gaydarbek Gaydarbekov of Russia, who overwhelmed Christopher Camat from the Philippines 35-13.
All the big guns are still in the most exciting weight division, although Andre Dirrell of the USA made heavy work of it against Dabateer Ha of China. The Cuban, Yordani Herrera, had a very impressive win over Jean Pascal of Canada, 36-24, in an action-packed contest.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
