“Remember, Andy Lee! Remember Andy Lee,” Emanuel Steward, speaking to the writer back in November of 2006.
Well, Steward was right to be excited about Andy Lee, who, at the time the above quote came from Emanuel, was a 5-0 hot prospect. Lee did win a world title in time; the Irishman claimed the WBO middleweight title in December of 2014, this at quite an advanced stage in his pro career.
But it could well be that Lee’s real talent, indeed his greatness, is his ability as a boxing trainer. Having learned a whole lot from the time he spent with Steward, Lee is today guiding numerous top-quality fighters; WBO interim heavyweight champ Joseph Parker, for one.
Hamzah Sheeraz: The New Hearns?
For another, Lee is currently working with Hamzah Sheeraz, a tall and powerful 168-pounder who has been compared to Steward’s most famous and celebrated fighter, Thomas Hearns. And in an interesting interview he gave with The Ring just recently, Lee spoke of how well Sheeraz would have fitted in had he trained “in the basement” at the legendary Kronk Gym the way Hearns and so many other greats of the ring did.
Kronk Gym: A Perfect Fit
Lee says that not only would Sheeraz’s awesome Hearns-like punching power have seen to it that he would have held his own when working inside the furnace-like Kronk, his mental approach would have made him “perfect” for Kronk.
“His punching power is truly shocking,” Lee said of Sheeraz’s zinging punches. “Hamzah can punch like hell. It really took me by surprise. His left hand is……the only way I can describe it is shocking when he hits you on the pads. And then when it comes to sparring, I see it every time because these guys get in the ring with all these ideas, and then the first jab lands, and you see their expression change immediately. It’s an obvious comparison (people have made comparing Sheeraz to Hearns) just because of the size, the height, and the power. But it’s also the attitude……Just wanting to hurt somebody. Hamzah would have fitted in all right at the Kronk. He would have been perfect in the basement.”
Sheeraz, 22-0-1(18), did look pretty darn perfect last time out, when he smashed his way clean through Edgar Berlanga in what was the Brit’s 168-pound and US debut. Now, real greatness could be in Sheeraz’s future. Being compared to a living legend like Hearns sure puts added pressure on a fighter’s shoulders, even shoulders as broad as those belonging to Sheeraz. But Lee is certain his latest charge can handle it. The way Lee is certain Sheeraz would have handled himself had he put his hours in at Kronk.
But can Sheeraz get himself a fight with Canelo Alvarez, and if so, can he win it? If so, true stardom will come calling.
