Lee to Face Brazilian at Brawl

By Declan O’Kelly

UNBEATEN middleweight Andy Lee will face Cleiton “Soul Man” Conceicao on March 16 in the Theatre at Madison Square Garden. The fight, on the John Duddy/Anthony Bonsante undercard, will be the opening televised bout on the pay-per-view “Erin Go Brawl” St. Patrick’s Eve punchout broadcast.

The Irish Voice caught up with the Limerick man on his return to Detroit from Spain. Lee was at training camp in Mallorca with Em-manuel Steward and heavyweight Wladimir Klitschko, who fights Ray Austin in Germany this weekend, and was in an upbeat mood.

“The camp went well. We were training away over there every day at a golf resort,” he said.

“There was nothing else to do but work. It was a good place to train and run. The only disadvantage for me was it was hard to getsparring partners. I was sparring a 6’2” cruiserweight, but now that I am back in Detroit I’ll be sparring middleweights.”

Lee’s opponent is originally from Cruz Das Almas in Brazil but now lives in Escondido, California, and has a record of 10-3-2 (8 KOs).

Conceicao fought and lost an eight-round bout by unanimous decision to Esau Herera on Saturday night at the Home Depot Center in California. He once held the WBA Fedecentro middleweight title and represented Brazil in the Sydney 2000 Olympics, where he lost to American Jeff Lacy.

Lee, the 6’2” southpaw, will have a decent height advantage over his 5’10” opponent, but won’t be keeping the fight at long range.

“I’ll be taking it to him from the first round. I’ve always boxed like that since I turned pro, taking the initiative and setting the pace. I’ll let him adapt to me. I’ll do what I always do and make him have to make all the adjustments,” said Lee.

So far in his career Lee’s longest fight has been six rounds. March 16 is his first fight scheduled for eight rounds and it is something he is looking forward to.

“Even though he (Conceicao) lost last week, he has a steady record of a pro and some great amateur experience. He will be coming in sharp and fit after eight rounds at the weekend,” Lee said.

“It will be my first eight-rounder so I am looking forward to the challenge. In all my fights that have gone the distance, it has been me finishing stronger than my opponents.

“Most of them were barely surviving; they were out on their feet or I was giving them standing counts. I’m looking forward to stepping up and seeing how I perform in the later rounds.”

Lee will not be without his support on the night and is making sure he is going to give them something to cheer about.

“A huge contingent of people are coming over from Limerick and from all over Ireland. A lot of people I met from my amateur days and a lot of good friends are making the trip. It will be a greatnight,” he said.

While Steward is with Klitschko in Germany, Tony Dunlop of the Belfast Kronk gym has flown over to Detroit to help Lee train until the legendary trainer’s return. The fighter has gone from the sun in Spain to the snow in Detroit, but will spend the next few days studying tape of his opponent and adding the finishing touches to his preparations.

“All the hard work has been done. It’s the last week now so we are just making sure we do some intense sparring and go to New York and get the job done,” Lee says.