By Michael Lieberman: Once beaten middleweight contender Andy Lee (24-1, 18 KO’s) may end up wishing John Duddy hadn’t suddenly retired recently, because Lee will now be facing #12 WBO middleweight contender Craig McEwan (19-0, 10 KO’s) in a 10 round bout on the undercard of the Sergio Martinez vs. Sergiy Dzinziruk bout on March 12th at the Foxwoods Resort Casino, in Mashantucket, in Connecticut. Duddy, with his face first style of fighting and slow hand speed, was made for Lee.

It was going to be an easy win for Lee, and one where he would have shown off his power and hand speed against the defensively wide open Duddy. However, now Lee has to face McEwan, a fighter that likes to bounce around the ring and move constantly. This is a much tougher fight for Lee. McEwan specializes at frustrating his opponents, and is like a European version of former WBC junior middleweight champion Sergio Mora.

McEwan, 28, has the skills to take Lee deep in the fight and possibly knock him out of make him look bad. At the very least, McEwan will likely take Lee deep in the fight and expose his poor stamina again. Lee turns red in the face once his fights go beyond six, and he often really labors. McEwan is almost guaranteed to go past the 6th round, because he doesn’t stand in front of his opponents looking to trade. McEwan also has good size at 6’1″, and this is going to be another problem for Lee. McEwan has long arms and he likes to hold them far in front of him to pick off hooks. If you take away Lee’s right hook, he’s a very vulnerable fighter. His right hook is his best weapon and without it, Lee is very average.