Each morning as Andy Lee steps out to begin his roadwork he peers up at the highest peaks of the Austrian Alps. The fresh, clean mountain air is the perfect setting for clearing his thoughts as he begins his daily run up the picturesque foothills of the imposing mountain range. With each step he leaves behind the memories of the first defeat of his professional career but looming large in the foreground is the imposing figure of Willie “The Gladiator” Gibbs – the power punching American who will stand across the ring from Lee in his native Limerick on July 19th on the next Ladbrokes.com Fight Night.
Now well into a 6 week training camp in Austria where he’s training alongside and sparring with World Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko Lee’s only focus is on next month’s date at the University Sports Arena in his native city..
“It’s beautiful out here,” said Lee. “The scenery is fabulous and the facilities are terrific. It’s great going running in the mornings with the Alps as a backdrop and the fresh mountain air but ultimately I’m here on business.”
As well as getting some ring time with Klitschko Lee ha also imported some top class sparring as he bids to return to winning ways following his shock defeat to Brian Vera in March.
“I’ve been sparring with one of the top German middleweights who recently fought for the European title and we‘ve had some really good spars. That’s helped me to shed the ring rust that accumulated since the Vera fight and can really feel my timing and sharpness improving every day.”
Not for the first time in his career Lee finds himself sharing a training camp with Klitschko, courtesy of the fact that both men are coached by Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward. Klitschko is preparing for the next defence of his title against American Tony Thompson in Hamburg on July 5th and Lee says he’s benefiting from the experience.
“It’s great to see how the heavyweight champion of the world goes about his business. He’s exceptionally dedicated and focused and he’s a great influence to have around. I’ve done some sparring with him and it benefits both of us. It helps him with his speed and helps me with my strength and conditioning and of course it’s a great experience sharing the ring with the heavyweight champion of the world.”
Lee turned 24 earlier this month but the birthday celebrations are well and truly on hold until after his clash with Gibbs. In fact the Castleconnell man admits much of the last few months were spent mulling over his defeat to Vera.
“Initially it was very difficult, it still is but those first few weeks were very, very tough. I came back home to Limerick and shut myself away. I had great support from my family and people back home in Limerick and I had a couple of good conversations with Damian McCann who’s been a great help all through my career and Brian Peters.
“My confidence was badly shaken but ultimately I still believe I can go on to achieve all my goals. People say to me ‘well at least you don’t have that weight of expectation on your shoulders now’ but I still have the same expectations of myself that I’ve always had. Other people’s expectations might have changed but not mine.”
Although he admits watching reruns of the Vera fight have been difficult the Athens Olympian says he has learned from the defeat.
“I’ve had a lot of sleepless nights thinking the fight through and wondering where it all went wrong. I’ve pinpointed the reasons behind it and I’m working hard in and out of the ring to address them.
“I suppose complacency was a major factor, things were moving very quickly for me at that point and there were fights lined up beyond the Vera fight and I got caught up in that and started looking beyond him.
“With the reputation and build up I was getting and with the fight being live on ESPN across the States it was a big stage for both of us and it was only natural that he was going to come in and try and spoil all that for me. He was very hungry and determined and it was his world title fight.
“I was just treating it as another fight but he saw it as his big chance and fair play to him he took it. He was very determined and had prepared excellently and that’s one of the many lessons I’ve taken from it. You can’t overlook anyone and you have to be at your best every time you step between those ropes.”
With the benefit of hindsight Lee also accepts that he fought the wrong fight tactically against Vera. “I suppose there was a macho element involved because when he got through with some good shots I wanted to get in my reply straight away so that led me into a brawl and what has always stood to me in my career has been my boxing skills but that went out the window when the crowd started cheering and I got drawn into his fight. That was a valuable lesson.”
Lee is adamant however that he’s not going to fall back on making excuses for the defeat. “No excuses, full stop. I’ve no one to blame but myself, it’s my career and the buck stops with me so there’s no point in looking around for scapegoats or coming up with excuses.”
Now having dealt with the physical and psychological scars from the Vera defeat Lee is happy to move on and take what he’s hoping is a calculated risk in fighting the highly rated Gibbs.
“A win over Gibbs will probably put me ahead of where I’d have been even if I’d beaten Brian Vera so I’m in no doubt that Gibbs will be treating this fight against me the very same as Vera did. He sees this as his big chance to get back on top. His only defeats have been to top guys in America so he’s a very dangerous fighter and his record shows that he can punch too.”
Indeed with 16 of Gibbs 20 wins having come via knockout many believe that Lee was deserving of an easier nights work as he attempted to bounce back from a defeat. Lee though dismisses that notion.
“I could have taken an easier opponent but I don’t think that would have been right. Limerick people know their sport and I wouldn’t expect them to turn up and pay good money to see me have an easy night. They pay good money to see a good fight, and I think myself and Gibbs will certainly give them their money’s worth.
“It’s a good card because Paul Mcloskey’s in a tough fight as well and then you have guys like Stephen Haughian, John O’Donnell and Jamie Power coming through on the undercard so I think it should be a great night for Limerick and I’m really looking forward to it now.”
Lee’s professional ambitions have seen him leave Limerick for Detroit where he linked up with Emanuel Steward but he admits his thoughts are never far from home.
“The people of Limerick have always been a great support to me, but even more so when I was down after the Vera defeat. They really helped to lift me when I was back home. Everyone I met in the street never said a bad word to me or tried to put me down. People told me that they were still proud of me and that I would be back. It meant an awful lot to me to hear that and that’s why I love my city.
“Limerick is the best sporting city in Ireland with the best supporters in Ireland and I hope to bring big time boxing to Limerick and to make Limerick the boxing capital of Ireland.”
The 8 fight card in Limerick is packed with talent. The chief support contest will feature the undefeated and highly rated Paul McCloskey as he takes on English Champion Nigel Wright.
Also in action is welterweight prospect Stephen Haughian from Lurgan, Galway’s John O’Donnell, former Lee opponent, Jason McKay, Limerick’s own Jamie Power, Castlebar puncher Keith Cresham and the pro debut of Canadian – Irishman Logan McGuinness.
Tickets for the Ladbrokes.com Fight Night priced from €60 are available from Ticketmaster.ie and all usual outlets.