By Scott Gilfoid: Andy Lee (32-2, 22 KO’s) will be dropping down a weight class to take on the very dangerous #4 WBC John Jackson (18-1, 15 KO’s) this Saturday night on the undercard of the Miguel Cotto vs. Sergio Martinez HBO pay-per-view fight card at Madison Square Garden in New York.
While Lee is still relatively young at 29, it’s still very difficult not to see this fight as possibly the end for the Irish fighter if he gets wiped out by the big punching Jackson. A loss to Jackson will be the third defeat for Lee in the last 7 years, and while that may not seem like a lot of losses, it is when you realize that those three fighters were the only good opponents that Lee has fought during that time frame. I mean, he does just swell when he’s fighting 3rd tier fodder, but when he’s stepped up a class to B level fighters, Lee has been crushed in defeats at the hands of Brian Vera and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Jackson, the son of knockout artist Julian Jackson, has explosive power like Julian. John can knock hole through you when he loads up with his shots and if he you stand in front of him. The only reason Jackson doesn’t have a perfect 18-0, 18 KO record is because the guys that made it the full distance against him used a lot of movement to survive. And also Jackson’s defeat to the lanky 6’3” Willie Nelson was a highly questionable one, because I had Jackson winning that fight by 4 rounds. It was televised on ESPN, and I thought it was one of the worst scored fights of 2012.
If John Jackson worked out on weights to develop his arms like Julian Jackson, I could see him punching with the same exact type of power as him. He’s already blessed with massive power as it is, but he just needs a little more muscle on his arms to be where Julian was at during his prime.
There’s no way Andy Lee will be able to trade shots with John on Saturday night. He’s going to need to stay on his bike for 12 rounds in this fight for him to be able to survive to the final bell, and I just can’t see Lee being able to move for that long without John catching up to him in this fight and ending matters.
The vacant NABF light middleweight title will be up for grabs for this fight.
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