Lee to face Latvian in Germany

Boxing:Irish middleweight Andy Lee will face Latvian Olegs Fedotovs on the undercard of Wladimir Klitschko's world heavyweight title fight in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, later this month.

The Limerick southpaw is currently preparing with Klitshko in Austria, under the guidance of trainer Emanuel Steward, and will face Fedotovs in the Veltins Arena on June 20th, before the Ukrainian defends his IBF and WBO titles against Ruslan Chagaev.

"I'm really honoured to have the opportunity to fight on the card, it is not every day you get a chance like this; the undercard of a world heavyweight title fight in a sold out 60,000 capacity venue is truly amazing," said Lee today.

"I am very focused on developing my boxing skills and this fight gives me the opportunity to gain yet more experience. I have been a professional now for just over three years and I am still learning through my fights and in the gym."

Lee was less than impressive when beating Alexander Sipos on points on the Dunne-Cordoba undercard in the O2 Arena in March, but Fedotovs is unlikely to test the Detriot-based fighter who has lost one of his 18 professional bouts.

Fedotovs’s record of 10 wins and five defeats is far from daunting, especially considering nine of those wins came against opponents with little or no experience in the ring.

While one defeat came early in his career in 2005, he was beaten four times between October 2007 and March 2008. Three of those went the distance, one was a first round knockout.

The ‘Viking’ will, therefore, not be expected to plunder at Schalke 04’s ground in little over week, but a win for Lee would do little to enhance his reputation as one of the division’s bright prospects.