Everything that has gone on is in history and it doesn’t really matter. They’re family and they’re happy I still represent Kronk everywhere I go.”Īnd, although the fight has been postponed twice, Lee says it will not take any of the shine off his first defence.
I stay in touch with his family still, Sugar Hill, his assistant trainer is coming to the fight and I got a message from his sister Diane wishing me luck. “It’s great that I could do it for him eventually. He was a big presence in my life: outside of my parents, he’s the biggest influence in my life. When asked whether he still thinks about Steward, he said: “All the time, yeah, everyday. When he claimed the title by stopping Korobov in the sixth round of their Vegas showdown, Lee immediately dedicated the win to his former mentor Steward, whose widow Marie was sat ringside at the Chelsea Ballroom that night.Īnd he says the spirit of the famous Kronk gym will be with him again when he faces undefeated Saunders tomorrow night. “When you wake up, you still have your problems but, being able to call yourself a champion is a great feeling.”
“It’s not like ‘oh it’s so amazing’ - life doesn’t change that much and for any young man out there, who is working hard for something, don’t think your life is going to be that much better once you’ve done it, and that all your problems are going to be gone. Lee says life has not changed much since he achieved his life goal. Who knows how it would have affected me had I not had those losses? I believe I’m a better person now.” I was arrogant, I was cocky, I was young. “Had I got it earlier, maybe I would not be the person I am now. It has worked out beautifully, that I’ve become a champion at the end of it. But the way it has gone, it has all worked out perfectly. “I probably wouldn’t have written it to work out this way, I would’ve wanted to win it straight away. I had those losses but the way it all worked out, it couldn’t have worked out better. I was young, I was cocky and I was never ready. At that time I didn’t imagine it would go the way it has. “It was December 2005 that I signed with Emanuel. Reflecting on his first year as champion, Lee said: “It’s been a great year and I’m very proud to be a champion, to call myself a champion and carry that title everywhere I go. But his decision to join Adam Booth paid swift dividends as he claimed the world title within two years of his relocation to London. The decade that followed was punctuated by some low points, a pair of seventh round stoppage defeats - to Brian Vera and then Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, paled into insignificance alongside the loss of Steward in October 2012 after a short fight with colon cancer.
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