Emanuel Steward isn?t mincing words regarding his man Andy Lee?s chances of defeating unbeaten World Boxing Council Middleweight titlist Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on Saturday night at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas. ?I think eight, nine rounds it will be over,? Lee?s trainer-manager Emanuel Steward boldly predicted to the Irish Echo newspaper columnist Jay Mwamba.
?We?re training for a knockout and we?ll be ready,? said Steward. ?Andy will knock him out. I?m not worried about a decision. I think eight, nine rounds ? it will be over.?
The basis for Steward?s confidence in Lee is simple. ?[He has] too much experience. Andy?s got a lot of experience from the Olympics, the World Juniors [and] all the other national tournaments he took part [as an amateur].?
Lee, a talented lefthander with a record of 28-1 (20 KO?s), also has six years of experience sparring with the likes of WBO/WBA/IBF Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko, WBC Light Heavyweight champ Chad Dawson, and former champions Jermain Taylor and Kermit Cintron.
Chavez might disagree with Steward about experience edges, as evidenced by his sterling record of 45-0-1 (31 KO?s) ? almost twenty more contests than Lee. And the fact that Chavez is the son of a Hall of Fame living legend and surely has learned many tricks of the trade from his father who scored over 100 victories in his illustrious career. But one aspect of the fight that will surely favor Lee is that he holds a two-inch height advantage over the 6-ft. tall Chavez. Lee stands 6-ft., 2-inches.
?One of the biggest advantages everyone?s always been talking about with Ch?vez is size advantage [but] he didn?t realize Andy?s bigger than him, much bigger,? said Steward.
