New York, NY – (1/6/2012) – At the press conference last week in New York City to announce DiBella Entertainment’s HBO Championship Boxing St. Patrick’s Day card at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, Andy Lee, who was slated to fight in the televised co-feature bout of the evening, stated, “I want to thank Lou (DiBella – Lee’s promoter) for letting me showcase myself on this show. There is nothing more I can wish for then to have this opportunity to fight at MSG on St Patrick’s Day.”
After seeking an opponent for the past two months and not being able to come up with anything suitable, Team Lee has announced that they will be coming off the card, and now it is rumored he could be the next opponent for WBA Middleweight Champion Felix Sturm.
“It is with great regret that I have to withdraw from the March 17, St Patrick’s Day Promotion at MSG Theater,” stated Lee. “Unfortunately due to the unavailability of a suitable world ranked opponent Team Lee have collectively decided it is in my best career interest to pass on a fight on this occasion. I would like to thank my promoter, Lou DiBella and HBO for planning to have me on the card and for their efforts to secure a suitable opponent for me from the limited boxers available.”
While it would have been a special treat for the and Irish community to see Lee showcase his skills on the 17th, Lee feels that his time for a world title opportunity is now, and while he wanted to be part of what is expected to be a spectacular event at The Garden when Sergio Martinez defends his Middleweight Championship Crown against Ireland’s top-rated middleweight contender Matthew Macklin, he now has his sights set on pursuing the fight with Sturm. Sturm has a tentative date schedule in Germany for April 13th.
New York, NY – (1/6/2012) – At the press conference last week in New York City to announce DiBella Entertainment’s HBO Championship Boxing St. Patrick’s Day card at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, Andy Lee, who was slated to fight in the televised co-feature bout of the evening, stated, “I want to thank Lou (DiBella – Lee’s promoter) for letting me showcase myself on this show. There is nothing more I can wish for then to have this opportunity to fight at MSG on St Patrick’s Day.”
After seeking an opponent for the past two months and not being able to come up with anything suitable, Team Lee has announced that they will be coming off the card, and now it is rumored he could be the next opponent for WBA Middleweight Champion Felix Sturm.
“It is with great regret that I have to withdraw from the March 17, St Patrick’s Day Promotion at MSG Theater,” stated Lee. “Unfortunately due to the unavailability of a suitable world ranked opponent Team Lee have collectively decided it is in my best career interest to pass on a fight on this occasion. I would like to thank my promoter, Lou DiBella and HBO for planning to have me on the card and for their efforts to secure a suitable opponent for me from the limited boxers available.”
While it would have been a special treat for the and Irish community to see Lee showcase his skills on the 17th, Lee feels that his time for a world title opportunity is now, and while he wanted to be part of what is expected to be a spectacular event at The Garden when Sergio Martinez defends his Middleweight Championship Crown against Ireland’s top-rated middleweight contender Matthew Macklin, he now has his sights set on pursuing the fight with Sturm. Sturm has a tentative date schedule in Germany for April 13th.
Fighters discussed included Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin; former title challenger Martin Murray; and George, who would have met Lee at a catch weight of 164 pounds.
“Due to the unavailability of a suitable world-ranked opponent, Team Lee have collectively decided it is in my best career interest to pass on a fight on this occasion,” Lee said. “I would like to thank my promoter, Lou DiBella, and HBO for planning to have me on the card and for their efforts to secure a suitable opponent for me from the limited boxers available.”
DiBella told ESPN.com that another reason Lee (27-1, 19 KOs) is off the show is because there is a possibility he could challenge 160-pound titlist Felix Sturm (36-2-2, 15 KOs) in Germany on April 13, although Sturm may wind up facing mandatory challenger and interim titlist Gennady Golovkin.
“Andy wanted a bigger fight,” DiBella said. “He didn’t want to put all his high rankings in the organizations at risk for a fight that wasn’t a big fight and, simultaneously, the possibility of Sturm also arose. He wants to pursue a bigger fight instead of a low-budget risk fight.”
