Andy Lee back in action against Anthony Fitzgerald on 2/9

By Boxing News - 12/21/2012 - Comments

lee534By Allan Fox: Middleweight contender Andy Lee (28-2, 20 KO’s) will be fighting on February 9th against Anthony Fitzgerald (13-3, 4 KO’s) in a fight at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Lee will be looking to reload for another world title shot as he needs to pick up some good wins so that he can get pushed back up the rankings.

Lee figures that it might only take three victories and he’ll in position for another world title challenge. He wants to go after some of the British middleweights and then fight for a title.

Lee bludgeoned into submission in his last fight against WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. last June in a fight where Lee seemed to do the opposite of his then trainer Emanuel Steward was telling him to do. Steward has now passed away, and Lee is currently being trained by Adam Booth.

It’s going to be interesting to see if Booth can make the needed changes in Lee’s game for him to get to the top. Steward was telling Lee the right things, but for some reason Lee just couldn’t follow the plan.

In Lee’s 7th round TKO loss to Chavez Jr., Lee was unable to move enough to keep away from him. Lee didn’t have the size to be brawling with Chavez Jr, and his trainer Steward knew this and kept telling Lee to start moving, but he wouldn’t do it.

If Booth is going to be able turn Lee into a champion the way that Booth briefly turned David Haye into the WBA heavyweight champion then he’s going to have to make Lee a more mobile fighter, because he doesn’t have the size, the chin or the defense to beat the best fighters. He might be able to pick up one of the belts if he aims at someone like Daniel Geale, but Lee will continue to have problems if he’s matched against fighters like Chavez Jr, Sergio Martinez and Gennady Golovkin.

Fitzgerald is from Ireland, and he’s fought mostly local competition. He does have a good win over Afif Belghecham last year in March, but most of his other wins have come against weak opponents. He lost his last to fight Eamonn O’Kane in the PrizeFighter tournament last May.



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