Andy Lee’s US Diary

Ahead of his headline bout with Mamadou Thiam in Limerick on 15 May, Andy Lee filed his first monthly diary with JOE.ie.

 

It’s just over four years now since I turned pro and while there’ve been some ups and downs along the road it’s all been a good experience, and hopefully I can step up a level by winning in Limerick on 15 May.

I’m not totally satisfied yet and I won’t be until I really achieve something but I know I’m on the road to it. I’m around the top 20 mark in all the world bodies and closing in on the top 10. I’ve had a good education in different training camps with different fighters all over the world and different gyms all over the United States, so I’ve seen a lot in a short period of time.

I’ve had some good fights against different types of opponents but now it’s time for me to take the next step. Four years is generally the mark for most professionals to go for bigger and more meaningful fights, and that’s where I am now.

I have this fight coming up in two weeks and hopefully when I get this one out of the way with a good impressive win, I’ll be looking to step up against better opposition.

Andy Lee knocks down Alex Sipos during a middleweight bout in Dublin in 2009

I’ve been in training camp in Florida since the middle of April, I’ll be here for the next week or so and then I go to Limerick a week before the fight. It’s a three-week camp, which is a bit shorter than usual for me, but I did a lot of training in New York with Joey Gamache before coming down here, doing the things you’d normally do in camp, so I’ve had a good preparation. It’s good to get away from home, though, get away from friends and family and just focus on the boxing and my opponent.

I’ve been working with strength and conditioning trainer Mark Stallman since the beginning of the year. Joey was on to me, saying ‘You really have to meet this guy, it’d be good for your training.’ I was always a bit worried because sometimes with strength and conditioning guys, they put more emphasis on that side of things than the boxing. But we’ve taken it slowly, I’ve got on well with him and I’ve enjoyed the work.

It’s kept things fresh – one day it would be with him, doing the conditioning, weights, running, and the next day I’d be in the gym, so it’s kept things moving nicely. I got tired in a few fights but everyone gets tired after ten rounds of boxing. Anybody who’s ever boxed knows they’ll be tired after ten or 12 rounds, but you always want to improve and make yourself more rounded as a boxer and an athlete.

So it’s been a benefit physically but it’s also been good for me mentally. It gives you extra confidence to know you’ve pushed yourself and you’ve worked harder than you’ve worked before.

I’m very motivated for this fight for several reasons. First of all, Thiam is a dangerous opponent, he can punch, so I know I’ll have to be at my best to beat him. But another reason to be motivated is that I’m looking to push on to the next level. I want to go out and have a good performance and prove that I can step up. I’ve been boxing at this level for two, three years, against strong guys, good middleweights in their own right, but I need to step up and go above this level.

It’ll be good to get back to Limerick. To know that everyone’s cheering for you, it gives you an extra bit of energy. It brings out the best in you too, because everyone’s going to be watching it and no-one’s going to let you forget about it for the next few weeks. In my last fight, the last round was close and I was caught with a good punch – I was hearing about that after the fight, I’m still hearing about it, to be honest, from people on the street when I go home.

It’s great for Limerick to have a quality fight night in the city. Outside of Bernard Dunne’s world title fights, this will be one of the best quality boxing shows in Ireland over the last few years. You’ve got Andy Murray, one of the top lightweights in Europe. You’ve got Katie Taylor, the best female boxer in the world, a superstar in her own right. There are a couple of good Irish title fights too, with Jamie Power against John Waldron for the Light Heavyweight title and Michael Sweeney and Ian Tims in Cruiserweight. The Cuban guys, Luis Garcia and Mike Perez, are also down to fight so it’s a great card.

It’s going to be a full house, so it’s something positive for Limerick as a whole too, and will hopefully show people that there’s another side to the city. It’s always been good for sport with Munster rugby and hurling, and it’s good to see boxing join that.

Till next time.