by Jim Dower: Former WBO middleweight champion Andy Lee is recommending that Daniel Jacobs rough Gennady Golovkin up as much as possible on Saturday night to throw him off his game. Lee, who will be fighting on the undercard, says Jacobs need to throw Golovkin around, tie him in clinches on the inside, and fight him at times.
Andy Lee (34 W, 3L, 1 D), Irish middleweight fighter arrived in New York City earlier this week in advance of his fight against KeAndrae Leatherwood (19W, 3L, 1D) this Saturday night at the mecca of boxing Madison Square Garden.
The Irishman returns to the ring after a 15 month layoff on the under-card of the highly anticipated Gennady Golovkin v Danny Jacobs world middleweight championship clash. Lee has kept himself fit and sharp during his time out of the ring and is looking forward to lacing up his gloves and getting back in action.
Former Middleweight World Champion “IRISH” ANDY LEE, (34-3-1, 24 KO’s) will celebrate St. Patrick Day with his triumphant return to The Mecca of Boxing, Madison Square Garden on Saturday, March 18 featured on the undercard of the World Middleweight Championship between Unified Middleweight World Champion GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN, (36-0-0, 33 KO’s) and WBA Middleweight World Champion and Mandatory Challenger DANIEL “THE MIRACLE MAN” JACOBS, (32-1, 29 KO’s).
By Jeff Aranow: After more than a year since his last fight, former WBO middleweight champion Andy Lee (34-3-1, 24 KOs) will be back inside the ring against KeAndrae Leatherwood (19-3-1, 12 KOs) on March 18 on HBO PPV from Madison Square Garden in New York. Lee lost his title in his last fight to Billy Joe Saunders in December 2015.
Lee would have won the fight if he wasn’t knocked down twice by Saunders early in the contest. The 32-year-old Lee has had plenty of time to rest and recover from the loss to Saunders. Having an entire year off from boxing might help restore Lee’s energy and help him find new success.
By Dan Ambrose: Former WBO middleweight champion Andy Lee (34-3-1, 24 KOs) will be fighting for the first time in a year and a half when he faces 28-year-old KeAndrae Leatherwood (19-3-1, 12 KOs) on the untelevised portion of the Gennady Golovkin vs. Daniel Jacobs card on March 18 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
RingTV.com is reporting the news about the 32-year-old Lee fighting Leatherwood on the Golovkin-Jacobs card.
By Dan Ambrose: Former WBO middleweight champion Andy Lee (34-3-1, 24 KOs) is hoping to get a fight against #1 WBC Jorge Sebastian Heiland (28-4-2, 15 KOs) in early 2017, and from there a title shot against IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin.
Lee and Golovkin were supposed to have fought each other in 2015, when Lee was the World Boxing Organization 160lb champion. However, Golovkin couldn’t take the fight due to his father passing away.
Irish middleweight fighter Andy Lee, (34W-3L-1D, 24KOs) is eager to return to the ring following some time off after his WBO world title majority decision loss to Billy Joe Saunders on December 19, 2015.
Lee an experienced world class operator is a formidable opponent for any of the top middleweight fighters such as Danny Jacobs, Gennady Golovkin, Canelo Alvarez and Miguel Cotto.
Lee is targeting a showdown with Danny Jacobs, WBA world champion or Gennady Golovkin, multi-titleholder world champion for his return fight. Both of whom successfully defended their titles this weekend by stopping their respective opponents (Danny Jacobs against Sergio Mora in Reading, PA and Gennady Golovkin against Kell Brook in London).
By Patrick McHugh: Former WBO middleweight champion Andy Lee (34-3-1, 24 KOs) plans on returning to the ring in the fall against an opponent still to be determined. Lee says he would like a title shot straightaway against WBA World middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs in his first fight back.
It’s unclear whether Jacobs will be able to accommodate Lee right away, because he’s using up his second straight voluntary defense by taking on Sergio Mora on July 30 in a rematch at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Unless the World Boxing Association is going to keep giving Jacobs voluntary defenses, I think Lee is going to have to fight someone else and wait for his crack at Jacobs.
The WBA is expected to order a fight between Jacobs and Gennady Golovkin soon, so it’s quite possible that if Lee wants a world title shot, he’ll need to go through Golovkin to get it, because Jacobs will almost surely wind up as another one of Golovkin’s knockout victims.
By Jeff Aranow: Plans are underway for WBA World middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs (31-1, 28 KOs) to defend his WBA title on May 21 against former WBO middleweight champion Andy Lee (34-3, 24 KOs) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Jacobs-Lee will be scheduled on the same night as Deontay Wilder’s defense of his WBC heavyweight title against Alexander Povetkin. It’s unclear whether this could be a double-header for Showtime, but that sounds like a likely plan.
By Dan Ambrose:
#6 WBO, #10 WBC middleweight contender Andy Lee (34-3-1, 25 KOs) is volunteering to face the recently beaten Miguel Cotto (40-5, 33 KOs) for his next fight on June 18 in New York.
Cotto still doesn’t have an opponent for his next fight, but he’s been linked with welterweights Diego Chaves and Ruslan Provodnikov as potential opponents for this date. Those guys are not big enough names for Cotto to fight on HBO pay-per-view obviously, but a fight against the 31-year-old Lee might just be enough of a name to make it PPV.
“NYC in June. @RealMiguelCotto Let’s make this fight! @HBOboxing,” said Lee on his Twitter.