Andy Lee is aiming to guide Paddy Donovan to the IBF welterweight title this Saturday.
IBF welterweight world title: Lewis Crocker v Paddy Donovan
Venue: Windsor Park, Belfast Date: Saturday, 13 September
Coverage: Live on BBC Radio 5 Live and Sports Extra 2, with live text commentary on BBC Sport website and app
Emanuel Steward, the esteemed trainer, once proclaimed Andy Lee as the fighter he had “never rated higher.”
That prophecy came to fruition when Lee, who arrived at Steward’s Kronk gym in Detroit at age 21, secured the WBO middleweight title in 2014 against Matt Korobov, two years after Steward’s passing.
There are parallels between Steward’s mentorship of Lee and the role the 41-year-old Limerick native now plays with Paddy Donovan, who will face Lewis Crocker for the vacant IBF welterweight title at Windsor Park in Belfast on Saturday night.
Lee, a second cousin of Tyson Fury, has been part of the coaching team for Fury in major bouts against Deontay Wilder and Oleksandr Usyk. This Saturday, however, he aims to celebrate his first world champion as a head trainer.
Following his retirement from professional boxing, Lee’s transition to coaching wasn’t necessarily a given. However, witnessing Donovan’s potential as an amateur convinced him to guide the career of the fellow Limerick native and member of the Irish Travellers community, whom he believed possessed the same X-factor Steward recognized in him.
“We met in 2019, and I immediately saw the potential,” Lee stated, referring to ‘The Real Deal,’ who lost his first fight against Crocker in March due to a disqualification for punching after the bell, despite leading on all scorecards.
“It would be great to see Paddy, the first fighter I started with, become the first to win a world title. I didn’t necessarily expect it to happen this way, but it’s fantastic. A Limerick man and a Traveller like myself, so it’s huge.”
“For young Travellers and those from disadvantaged backgrounds, if you can come from where we came from and become world champions in this sport, you can achieve anything.”
Steward signed Lee at the age of 21.
Lee was once a young prospect himself, fresh from representing Ireland as their sole boxing competitor at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
His journey took him from London, where he started at the renowned Repton club, to St Francis Boxing Club in Limerick after his family moved back to Castleconnell when he was 14.
After the Athens Games, Lee garnered the attention of Steward, who signed the tall southpaw to ensure Detroit would be his next destination.
Eager to make an early impression, Lee famously requested to spar immediately after his transatlantic flight. Initially hesitant, Steward agreed and observed the newcomer, wearing borrowed boots and gloves, holding his own against Cornelius Bundrage, an established star.
This marked the beginning of a relationship that transcended the typical coach-fighter dynamic—an approach Lee now employs with his own fighters, including Donovan, heavyweight Joseph Parker, Hamzah Sheeraz, and Ben Whittaker.
“Emanuel’s influence, outside of my parents, is probably the most significant in my life because I lived with him for so many years. He cooked my food and did my laundry,” Lee recalled.
“Emanuel prepared me for that level from the start of my career. I traveled with him doing HBO [commentary in the United States], watched fights, and was in camp with [Wladimir] Klitschko, Jermain Taylor, and all the big fighters.”
“Emanuel instilled a lot of confidence in his fighters. If he praised you, you were ecstatic. I try to do the same with these fighters and get to know them as people, to understand what motivates them. You develop intimate relationships with each of them while training.”
Lee won the WBO middleweight title in 2014 and is confident Donovan possesses the qualities to emulate him on Saturday.
Just as Lee trained and sparred with heavyweight champion Klitschko, Donovan spent his first camp alongside Fury, learning the nuances of the sport both inside and outside the ring, which has prepared him for his significant night on Saturday.
In boxing, as in life, there are highs and lows. Lee lost his first world title opportunity when he was stopped by Julio Chavez Jr in 2012, just months before Steward’s death from colon cancer.
Under the guidance of Adam Booth, Lee reached the pinnacle, delivering a highlight-reel knockout of John Jackson before securing the title against Korobov.
The methods and lessons of both Steward and Booth, as well as the coaches who guided him as an amateur, have shaped him as a coach.
“Looking back on my life, being with fantastic coaches like Nicholas Cruz Hernandez, Zaur Antia, Billy Walsh, Gary Keegan, then Emanuel, SugarHill [Steward], Joey Gamache, and Adam Booth to finish my career—you absorb so much,” he acknowledged.
“I still incorporate the same training routines that I did with Adam, all the physical circuits.”
His stable of fighters has grown in size and reputation, with Lee helping heavyweight Parker revitalize his career with impressive wins against Wilder and Zhilei Zhang. Meanwhile, Sheeraz and Whittaker have sought his expertise to reach the top of the sport.
The Ballybrack Boxing Club in Dublin fosters a positive atmosphere as victories continue to accumulate, and Lee is confident that Donovan can lead the way by securing the first world title for his team.
“I look at him now and see a world champion.”
“The great fighters possess an aura, a way they carry themselves, and I see that in Paddy. By being focused, disciplined, and committed, he will win.”
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