Lee can earn medal shot

BoxingFour rounds, two minutes each, and a Cameroonian boxer named Hassan Ndam Njikam are all that stand between Andy Lee and the chance to fight for an Olympic medal.

Should the Limerick boxer (20) come through this evening's second round bout at the Peristeri Hall (7.45 Irish time) then he can start thinking about Wednesday's quarter-final - and probably the biggest fight of his career.

Win that fight and he goes home with at least a bronze medal. That might appear to be jumping the gun a little, but his coach and Irish manager Billy Walsh was yesterday more than just quietly confident about Lee's chances.

The Cameroon boxer, also just 20, sneaked through his first-round bout on a split decision. He also stands three inches shorter than Lee, and appears to be lacking in technical ability.

"I honestly don't know what Andy will do here," says Walsh. "I look at the statistics and see that the average age for the medal winners in boxing is 25. Andy has just turned 20.

"But the guy is just so talented. That's why I'm confident he will beat this opponent. Hassan had a bit of a dogfight with the Dominican boxer, but of course he still won it.

"And yet Andy has a number of advantages. He's taller, has a longer reach, and of course is a southpaw. I'm not going to say it will be a pushover, and this guy is definitely a better boxer than the Mexican. Better technically anyway, but I don't think as technically good as Andy."

Certainly Lee hardly put a foot or fist wrong a week ago against his first-round opponent, the Mexican Alfredo Angulo Lopez. He won that 38-23, pacing himself with real authority and clearly fighting with something in reserve.

There is still a slight problem with the old shoulder injury that hindered Lee earlier this season, but Walsh is satisfied that won't be a factor: "It was a little sore again, but so was his whole body. He took the Mexican's hits very well, and shipped quite a few punches in that fight.

"We're lucky to have a very, very good medical team out here. They've been giving Andy great attention - or running repairs, as we'd call it. And today he was in superb form. He's had an excellent rest this week and is as ready as he could possibly be.

"Everything we've been telling him he's been taking in, and puts it all into practice. He's a very clever mind. So Andy has all the tools to win this. And it's pretty certain that bar a huge upset the European champion Gaydarbek Gaydarbekov will be his opponents in the quarter-finals."

Gaydarbekov will fight just prior to Lee (7.31), against Sherzod Abdurahmonov of Uzbekistan, a fight the Russian is expected to win easily. That would set up the Russian-Irish quarter-final next Wednesday, with the winner of that assured of a bronze medal. Lee can hardly wait.