It was a good Saturday night for both middleweight Andy Lee and light middleweight Henry Coyle, who won in separate bouts at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana.

Lee (24-1, 18 KOs) TKO’ed Troy Lowry (27-11) in the man event, with the end coming at 2:59 in round four.

"It was a good win," Lee told the Irish Voice on Monday.
"It was a one-sided fight.”

Lee, who was having his second fight in 15 days, completely outclassed his 40-year-old veteran opponent from Minnesota.

“The fellow had a lot of experience, and he knew how to survive,” he continued.

“I had to break him down.”

And break him down he did, as Lowry hit the canvas fives times in the fight before the ref called a halt to the mismatch in the fourth stanza.
“I had him down a few times in the last round,” said Lee.

“He was a bit upset and he came at me, and right at the end of the round I hit him with a right hook just as the bell went.”

Lowry was down for the last time.  Lee went on to say that as he walked back to his corner his brother Roger told him to turn around, and as he did he saw the ref put an end to proceedings.

The 26-year-old will now take a short break as he awaits his next assignment, and having emerged from his double header unscathed and unbeaten, it is now up to trainer/manager Emanuel Steward to work on his next fight.

The negotiations for the possible fight between Lee and fellow Irish middleweight John Duddy are still very much on, and Steward is expected to come to the New York in the next seven to 10 days to continue talks.

All indications point to strong mutual interest from both camps to make something work, but the logistics and correct promotion of the fight are the next things to be discussed.

Meanwhile, light middleweight Henry Coyle (12-2, 10 KOs) defeated Mustafah Johnson (8-8-1, 2 KOs) by unanimous decision on the same card as Lee.

“I very nearly got him out of there in the sixth,” Coyle told the Irish Voice Monday.

“But it was a humdinger of a fight and I am delighted to get out of it with a win.”

Coyle, who endured a tough summer with niggly injuries, emerged injury free from the contest and is keen to stay active in the ring.

He will be not taking any time off and is slated to return to action at the end of October in Cleveland.

Another U.S.-based Irish fighter with a win in the last week was light welterweight Jamie “The Nuisance” Kavanagh, who defeated Ricardo Malfavon by unanimous decision at Club Nokia in Los Angeles to take his record to 3-0.

Kavanagh’s trainer Freddie Roach was not in his corner as he is with Manny Pacquaio in training camp in the Philippines, but the Spanish speaking Dubliner was able to win all rounds on the three judges’ scorecards.

In Ireland, Paul McCloskey successfully defended his European light welterweight title in Letterkenny on Saturday night when he stopped Scot Barry Morrison in the seventh round of their fight.

 Also victorious on the night was light welterweight Andy Murray (22-0), who defeated John Mohasco (18-5-2) on points.
Finally, heavyweight Kevin McBride (34-7-1, 29 KOs) is in action this Saturday night when he fights at York Hall in Bethnal Green in London against Franklin Egobi (15-3).

Should he prevail in the three rounds fight, the 37-year-old could face the likes of Michael Sprott and Matt Skelton in the latter rounds of the tournament. The winner of the one-night competition takes home £32,000.