Andy Lee's rise as a boxing coach as Hamzah Sheeraz aims to put on a show
Huge success, devastating heartbreak, the Olympic Games, world champion status and countless ups and downs along the way.
This week, Lee is back in New York, a city he lived in for a time and where he fought in five times as a professional.
His last fight came in the Big Apple eight years ago when he beat KeAndrae Leatherwood at Madison Square Garden, the same venue as Katie Taylor's trilogy fight with Amanda Serrano in the early hours of this morning.
But this time he is back in New York as a coach and an exceptional one at that, having learned from one of the best in Emanuel Steward.
His newest fighter Hamzah Sheeraz, headlines an historic event at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, the famous US Open Tennis venue, tonight against New York native Edgar Berlanga.
Undefeated with 21 wins and a split-decision draw in his last fight, against Carlos Adames for the WBC world middleweight title, the Englishman is having his first fight under Lee, who he joined earlier this year.
"I've never got along with a coach like I have with Andy," said the 26-year-old, who is moving up to super-middleweight for the fight. "It's really easy. I do what he says, even outside the ring when we go for walks or whatnot. He's a good guy."
Sheeraz is the latest fighter to move to the Dublin-based coach and joins Ben Whittaker in doing so, who landed a stunning second round knockout win over Liam Cameron back in April in his first fight under Lee.
The win came six months after Whittaker drew with the same opponent after injuring himself in the sixth round in what he admitted himself was a poor performance.
"I've got so much to thank Andy Lee for," Whittaker said after the fight. "A lot of people after a fight like that washed their hands of me but Andy came and said 'I know what you got inside you, come to Ireland and let me show you what you can do'. And that's what we did."
Lee decided to become a coach after seeing a young Paddy Donovan in the amateur ranks.
'The Real Deal' looked to be cruising to victory against Lewis Crocker back in March when he was disqualified in controversial circumstances for hitting the Belfast man after the bell had sounded.
Donovan and Croker are set to meet again in September, with the IBF world welterweight title on the line this time.
"Andy was really a life changer when it came to it," said Donovan of his coach. "Amateur boxing is a sport where you work so hard and you dedicate your life for no money, no financial success.
"To be married quite young and have kids, turn professional, gives you a big opportunity. Andy's helped me in that path. He's made very, very good decisions for me and he's certainly got some good paydays and good sponsors."
But what makes Lee so special as a coach?
"Andy's simplicity is key, said Jason Quigley, who was one of the first fighters to work under him. "He doesn't over-complicate things. He keeps things very simple, very straight down the middle.
"At the end of the day, that's what works. If you get in there and you can do three things very, very well, you're going to be very hard to beat."
Lee has also made great friendships and linked with key people throughout his careers as a fighter and a coach, working with heavyweights Tyson Fury and Joseph Parker.
New York is where he met solicitor Keith Sullivan, who he hired to settle a legal issue.
Sullivan now co-manages Donovan with Lee and was key in them winning an appeal with the IBF over the result of the Crocker fight.
Nutritionist George Lockhart has also become a key part of Lee's team, with Donovan describing the ex-US marine as 'a big game changer' ahead of his fight with Crocker.
"George has been exceptional. I've learned so much, absorbed so much, learned so much about food and what my body needs to intake and to rehydrate properly. Look, George speaks for himself, he's one of the best in the world."
Fury, Conor McGregor and Jon Jones are among the other fighters Lockhart has worked with.
Lee had exceptional guidance as a fighter, living with the great Emanuel Steward in Detroit, before becoming the first Irishman since 1934 to win a world title in America under another great boxing brain in Adam Booth in 2014.
Lee lived with Stewart in Detroit and fought out of the famous Kronk Gym, with Wladimir Klitschko among his former gym mates.
He also worked with Sugar Hill, Steward's nephew, who trains Fury.
As an amateur, Lee worked with Zaur Antia and Billy Walsh when training with Team Ireland at the High Performance Unit.
And his rising stock as a coach is doing wonders for Irish boxing and young professionals.
"It's a great lift for Ireland to be seeing the likes of these, you know, you can call some of them superstars coming to Ireland to train and be down at the 40 foot going for dip," said Quigley, who is now working as a boxing manager.
"Kian Hedderman is a young kid that I manage and look after and he is reaping the rewards of Andy taking these fighters in because he's in, he's sparred Joseph Parker, he's been in camp with him, he's sparred Ben Whittaker, been in camp with him and now he's sparred Hamzah Sheeraz and been in camp with him for this fight.
"It is unbelievable and Andy's got that real good way about him that he wants to give back as well to the people of Irish boxing and give opportunities because he knows how difficult this game can be."
So what is Lee expecting from his newest fighter tonight?
"What I've been working on with him is his balance, being ready and present. I was shocked by how hard he hits.
He added: "He's a massive puncher, Hamzah. I wasn't aware of that before I trained him. But now he is a real (puncher). I anticipate him doing well in the fight. I think he'll earn [Edgar] Berlanga's respect. Once he does that, once he's settled into the fight, it will be anyone's fight."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Rugby international Robbie Henshaw joins the at-home sauna trend: ‘I can train and perform consistently'
Saunas are hot in every sense of the word. They're also everywhere – in your social feeds with friends snapping themselves mid-roast, on rooftops and in people's front gardens . Mobile units dot piers and coves around the entire coastline. For many of us, the social element is the clincher. But the art of sauna, a practice that has its origins in health, has been part of the Finnish way of life for thousands of years. Inscribed on the representative list of UNESCO 's intangible cultural heritage of humanity five years ago, it's caught a lot of heat in Ireland with löyly, the Finnish word for the sudden burst of steam that surges through the air when you ladle water on the stones, enchanting all demographics. None more than sports and fitness fans. Carpenter and recovery-fan John Needham grew up in Louisburg, Co Mayo with childhood friends, Matthew Dempsey, now a sports physiotherapist, and Ciaran O'Malley, an electrician. READ MORE John Needham of Sauna Craft Co and Slainte Sauna (l), Matthew Dempsey, Sauna Craft and Ciaran O'Malley, also Sauna Craft, pictured with one of their saunas in John's back garden in Kimmage, Dublin. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien He played rugby as a teen and recalls being brought into Westport leisure centre and made to do the sauna and ice bath treatments from the age of about 17. 'Most people did not want to go. There were plenty of squeals but that's the competitive point.' The trio were all tradesmen with similar sports backgrounds. Needham was building a sauna for himself about a decade ago and his friends gave him a hand. They enjoyed working together and decided to set up The Sauna Craft Co , supplying wellness pods to homes, as well as Sláinte Sauna , public saunas you pay to attend in Sandymount, Dublin 4 and Westport. John Needham of Sauna Craft Co lights up the sauna in the back garden of his house. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien Word soon got out, with elite sportspeople in particular noting what was on offer. The sports medicine, strength and conditioning (SSC) coach of the All Blacks, Nicholas Gill, heard about them and asked them to install a mobile sauna and an ice bath for the team at the Radisson Blu in Stillorgan. The inflatable ice baths measured 1200cm by 600cm and were 'big enough to get eight lads in. That was massive with the All Blacks,' he recalls. 'Some stayed in 10 minutes'. That time period demonstrates endurance and the team's competitive spirit. Then the Wallabies, the Australian rugby team, got in touch. Argentina also booked. And the Irish team's back-room people got in touch. They've been such a sizzling success that Leinster and Ireland centre Robbie Henshaw had the lads install a set-up for him in the back garden of his home. 'Recovery's become a priority for me. The sauna and ice bath help me stay on top of the workload, manage small niggles, and keep my body in a place where I can train and perform consistently. It's about doing the simple things well, day after day,' Henshaw says. In setting up the business, Needham checked the competition in Norway and Finland, and talked to people in eastern Europe. Every nation likes to sauna differently. 'In Finland they don't like temperatures over 90 degrees. In Hungary and Latvia, they like it at between 110 and 120 degrees, while in Ireland we like it at 100 degrees.' Saunas are hot, he says. 'Four years ago, nobody was buying saunas. Now we get about 20 emails a day.' At Sláinte Saunas a two-by-two-metre-barrel sauna with a six-kilowatt electric heater costs €4,200, while the same size, with a wood-burning stove costs €4,500.' Both sell equally well but there are usage caveats. The wood-burning sauna has a nice organic feel and offers nicer heat, but doesn't work in built-up areas where he counsels choosing the electric option. Build your own sauna (BYOS) About 150 metres from the crescent-shaped Reen beach on the edge of Derrynane, Daniel O'Connell's Co Kerry homestead, electrician Cian Boland renovated two adjoining cottages. He spent his weekends constructing a sauna out the back that he plans to offer as an add-on to visitors, especially those comi ng in shoulder and off seasons. Cian Boland built a sauna and plunge pool in his holiday lets in Kerry. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw Cian Boland's sauna interior. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw But for now, it's a place for him and his friends to gather, shoot the breeze and run the short distance down to the water to cool off. They also have the option to take a dip in a step down into plunge pool he's built using old stone. It is filled with water softened by its journey down the mountain where it is redirected to pool within its stone surrounds. It is a work of art. Before construction, Boland spent a lot of time looking at sauna videos online, before he dug a foundation, cast it in concrete and then built a timber frame. He wrapped it in felt and plywood sheeting on the exterior, adding rolls of eco-insulation that he lined in a reflective foil to cast the heat back into the space. This was battened using non-treated timber, so that it would be non-toxic when the temperatures rise. The interior features black alder, a native species that he says has similar properties to cedar. He chose a two-tone look for the seating using aspen, a white timber, on the seats to give contrast. For ambience he added soft strip lighting, and a dressingroom area. This is made of larch and partially charred to bring out its grain, the floor tiled in a black limestone look. Cian Boland's sauna. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw Cian Boland's plunge pool in Kerry. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw The four metre long by 2.5 metre wide space is long enough to stretch out flat in it and can comfortably fit up to eight. A slim clerestory window at the top helps to bring light in, while a big picture window looks up at the Sugarloaf Mountain. He bought the pillar-shaped wood-burning online from Finnish company Harvia. Its generous stone capacity ensures excellent steam production. He uses the soft mountain water on the stones. He sometimes adds essential oils. 'I'm partial to lavender and have a few blends too, lavender and clary sage.' He burns kiln-dried birch or beech that he buys by the pallet. 'The birch smells unbelievable.' A lot of work went into it. And it's been a bit of a labour of love, for excluding the hours he's put into its design and construction, he estimates it has cost about €10,000, with each sauna costing between €5 and €6 in wood and electricity. It was a rewarding project, he says. 'It's even better than how I imagined and sketched it. I still get goosebumps inside it. It is a very special space.' Cian Boland's sauna. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw The fuel that Cian uses in his sauna. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw A sauna within a home Limerick-based Deirdre Quirke prefers to sauna indoors in the creature comforts of her own home. She bought hers off the shelf from A Room Outside, on the city's Ballysimon Road, which stocks a wide selection of steam and outdoor options, as well as infrared designs. Hers is about the size of a wardrobe, measuring 1.9 metres high, and 90cm wide and deep, so it could technically be installed as part of a wardrobe system or into a bathroom that is being designed from plans. If you do so, you should leave space on top for ventilation and to be able to open the door, says owner of A Room Outside , Liam Whelan, who also counsels opening a window to allow fresh air to circulate. Originally, Quirke had wanted hers to be in her upstairs bathroom, but the device is plugged into the electric system using a three-pin plug, something that isn't considered safe in a bathroom setting. So, instead, she installed it in the guest room, which is next to the bathroom, and means she can jump straight into the shower afterwards. Her Saulo full spectrum infrared for one-person, which costs €1,999, has a glass-fronted door, and three heat panels, one on each side and one that sits into the back. She first came across this type of sauna in a friend's house in Drumaheir, Co Leitrim. It was years back, but it has since been on her 'must-have list' when she bought her own home. 'It's really good for muscles, back, circulation, for having a detox and getting a good sleep,' she explains. She uses it for durations of 30 minutes, fragrancing it with essential oils, and has a preference for eucalyptus or pine. She runs hers at sixty degrees. 'It's a gentle type of heat. You're not heating up the space, so it still feels nice and fresh.' She's had the family over to try it out. 'My mam loved it. My dad thought it was a very silly buy.' For her, 'it's an investment in yourself. That's how I see it.' There is nothing like having a sauna to yourself, she says. 'I can be naked. I can throw on a podcast or throw on some 1970s road trip music, gentle not loud. It's so nice for switching off.'
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Hamzah Sheeraz smashes Edgar Berlanga with INCREDIBLE KO win to set up potential Canelo Alvarez showdown
HAMZAH SHEERAZ silenced American mouthpiece Edgar Berlanga with a fifth-round stoppage on his Stateside debut. Sheeraz came into the bout of the back of a controversial draw against WBC middleweight champion Advertisement 2 Hamzah Sheeraz knocked out Edgar Berlanga 2 Berlanga hit the deck three times And welcoming him up to super-middleweight Berlanga - once a man who But more recently, he was dominated over 12 rounds by Mexican superstar Sheeraz went one further by stopping Sheeraz one round after his two knockdowns in the fourth. He is now mandatory for the WBO 168lb title and said: 'Canelo is a boxing hero of mine. Advertisement "For my name to be mentioned in the same sentence is a great achievement. 'If it does happen I'll stand in the middle and have it out with him. 'Massive thank you to Andy Lee. 'Them first few rounds I was losing but we had a plan. I told him to trust me and he did, so thank you. Advertisement Most read in Boxing CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS 'I swear to you, whoever was in the ring with me today there was no stopping me.' Sheeraz, 26, first floored Berlanga, 28, with a left hook after a combination of punches. The American - with Puerto Rican heritage - made it to his feet but was dropped once more this time a right hand doing the damage. Advertisement Brave Berlanga made it out of the round but after a right hand dropped him again the referee waved off the bout. Sheeraz moves to 22 wins and one draw and must await the next move of Canelo -
The 42
7 hours ago
- The 42
Seventh All-Ireland final beckons for Kerry's self-styled football outsider
MENTION TO JACK O'Connor that he is heading for his seventh All-Ireland final, and he throws it on to the players. 'This group have been in a few finals like. They were here in '22, '23…,' he begins. 'They were here in '19, sorry — '19, '22, '23 — so this will be their fourth final, most of those boys. 'Paul Murphy, Paul Geaney were there in '14. And '15. So there is a good bit of experience in the group, yeah.' And what it means, of course? 'Sure of course it counts. Where it counts more than anything is in the build-up to it. You know to avoid getting carried away in the euphoria of the thing, and keeping the main thing the main thing, if you know what I mean. 'Keeping your priorities right, and keeping the focus on arriving here in your best physical and mental condition. To play the game rather than the occasion.' If there is one thing he laments, in what he calls the 'old days', it was the month of a lead-in to the final. But that can't be helped either. The season starts with the bang of a gun and teams have to put their head down to make the early yards. There's barely a chance to get the head up and see where everyone else is. All you can do is take nothing for granted, and Tyrone are not a side that O'Connor has learned to take for granted. Advertisement O'Connor shakes hands with Peter Teague. Tom O'Hanlon / INPHO Tom O'Hanlon / INPHO / INPHO 'Tyrone had some big results that almost went under the radar. They beat Donegal above in Ballybofey, very few teams do that. I don't think it was picked up too much in the media,' said O'Connor. 'Beat Dublin here; I don't care what they say about Dublin, Dublin are still a hard team to beat here in Croke Park. They would have come into this game with a lot of confidence and there was lot a noise about our game, which meant Tyrone were coming in under the radar. 'I thought that showed early on. I thought, in the first 15 minutes, Tyrone were the better team. They settled quicker and had us in a lot of bother on breaking ball around the middle of the field. As soon as we got to terms with that, I thought the game changed and David's goal settled us.' The kickout count was heavily in Tyrone's favour before Kerry arrested that. In the second half, Tyrone simply couldn't cope. A good part of that was the man sitting beside O'Connor in the press briefing. Gavin White won three break balls from Niall Morgan's kickout in the third quarter alone. 'No better man than this man here,' said O'Connor of the Dr Crokes man. 'That was the thing that was killing us early on. There was a bit of a disconnect between Shane's kickouts and fellas getting to the pitch of the breaks. We spoke about that at half-time and that was a big factor in the second half.' This win was less of the Catherine Wheel spectacular of the win over Armagh, but it could have been even more impressive. It doesn't feel like a performance is being magicked up out of nowhere. 'It was a more rounded performance because I thought that spell against Armagh was a bit freakish. It was like they just couldn't get their kickout away and we kept the ball up that end of the field,' said O'Connor. David Clifford celebrates. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO 'I think this was a more rounded performance because Tyrone are very big around the middle of the field, Kennedy and Kilpatrick are big men and they have a lot of targets, and Morgan has a serious weapon of a kickout. The two boys (O'Shea and O'Brien) plugged away great for most of the game, and then Joe finished up midfield and what a game Joe had. Powerful game, he is getting better all the time.' Kerry supporters have had all sorts of things thrown at them. Occasionally, outsiders paint a pretty vulgar picture of their assessments of players. But this team seem to be reaching for a deeper connection. You can see it in David Clifford most of all. He has been appealing for greater turnouts of fans, and when he plundered his first-half goal here, made a huge show of trying to raise the decibel level among the Kerry support. It's working. 'I mean it was no secret that Armagh seriously outnumbered us here at this stage last year,' said O'Connor. 'And I know I got stick for it but I said at the time that they were a factor in the game. And I don't think anyone could dispute that. '(The) Kerry crowd were a factor today big time. So delighted with that. The support travel in huge numbers. 'And long may it continue. I mean these boys are giving everything for the cause. And they're playing good football. So they deserve to be supported. And we're delighted that, you know, I don't have the language to describe it. 'But it's working both ways, you know. They're getting energy from the crowd. And the crowd are getting energy from the players.' Meanwhile, O'Connor noted at the end of his press conference that Paul and Conor Geaney, along with Tom O'Sullivan, will be in a position to make a contribution in the final. * Check out the latest episode of The42′s GAA Weekly podcast here
