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Irish boxer Andy Lee happy with New York training camp

DECLAN O'KELLY

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Thursday, November 5, 2009, 10:03 AM

Updated Thursday, November 5, 2009, 10:15 AM

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Read more: Andy Lee, Limerick GAA, Detroit, Boxing, Sports, Ireland, Professional Boxing, Gaelic Football, Gaelic Sports, Emanuel Steward

Andy Lee in action

Andy Lee's (19-1) preparations for his fight against France's Affif Belghecham (19-3-1) on November 14 at the University Arena in Limerick are going to plan in New York.

Lee, who normally prepares for fights in Detroit, is readying himself in the Big Apple this time out as trainer/manager Emanuel Steward will be working the Manny Pacquiao/Miguel Cotto fight ringside for HBO in Las Vegas on November 14.

Consequently, the Limerick native is training with Kronk assistant trainer Joey Gamache and Jevon Hill in the city, and they will accompany him to Ireland for this fight and man his corner in the University Sports Arena on the night. IrishCentral caught up with Lee on Tuesday to see how preparations were unfolding.

“I’ve been training for this fight in Fight House on 27th Street, and I’ve been to the Bronx for sparring but mostly been working out of there,” said Lee.

“I have done pretty much the same things I have been doing if I was in Detroit. People were asking if there would be a lot of distractions in New York, but it depends on the person, and I have been disciplined and not hanging out in places. It has worked out well. It is nice to be here in New York, I am close to home and there are a few people here that I know.”

Lee has been working with local fighters and had two sparring days left as of Tuesday. Since he is fighting a leftie, all sparring has been with southpaws and Lee is happy with how the ring work has gone thus far.

Lee has worked with Jose Rodriguez and Victor Paz, among others, to prep for next week’s assignment. Though Steward is in Detroit, the two are in constant communication.

“I have been speaking on the phone to him and keeping him updated and everything. When we are in Detroit, Jevon and Jay would handle most of the training anyway. Emanuel would come into the gym and watch the sparring and that, but we are keeping him updated and training is going well.”

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Irish sport is popular and widespread. Levels of participation and spectating are high on the island of Ireland. Throughout the country a wide variety of Irish sports are played, the most popular being Gaelic games (such as Gaelic football, hurling and camogie), soccer, rugby union and boxing. By attendance figures Gaelic football and hurling are by far the most popular sports in Ireland, (34% of total attendances at sports events being to football and 23% to hurling), while golf and soccer (including 5-a-side) are the most played at 17% of the population each. Many Irish sports, such as boxing, cricket, rugby union, Gaelic football and hurling, are organized in an all-island basis, with a single team representing Ireland in international competitions. Other Irish sports, such as Association Football, have separate organizing bodies in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. At the Olympics, a person from Northern Ireland can choose to represent either Ireland or Great Britain. The various GAA discipline finals are easily the largest sporting events regularly held in Ireland, in both terms of attendance and media coverage. The biggest national sporting event in Ireland is the final of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, held annually in Croke Park in September. It usually attracts a sell out crowd of 82,500 to Croke Park. Many of the matches in the championship attract crowds of 50,000, depending on who is playing. Aside from the GAA, the biggest multi-sport event held in Ireland regularly is the Community Games. The games are organized every year from a local level, where hundreds of thousands of young people compete in different disciplines such as athletics, swimming, cycling etc., in the first half of the year. Winners progress to county level, and then to the Community Games finals. One of the biggest international Irish sport events is international Association Football. The Republic's national team has punched above its weight in recent years, qualifying for the 2002 World Cup, and performed well against such teams as Brazil and Portugal. In rugby union, Ireland's national team has been ranked in the top five teams regularly over the last few years, and has produced major stars such as Keith Wood and Brian O'Driscoll. In golf, Ireland is home to several top golfers such as Padraig Harrington.

Irish boxer Andy Lee happy with New York training camp

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