Lee to make pro debut next month
Limerick boxer Andy Lee has ended months of speculation by signing professional forms with world-renowned trainer Emanuel Steward.
The southpaw, who turned 21 last month, has backed out of the contract he reportedly signed last January with the Irish Sports Council to keep him in the amateur ranks.
Athens Olympian Lee signed a deal worth €42,000, which included a bonus clause of €12,000 for any medals won at World or European Championships, and looked set for a tilt at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
But he has been lured Stateside by Steward, the former trainer of Lennox Lewis.
Now in training for his pro debut at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Michigan on August 13, against an as yet unnamed opponent, Lee will be billed as one of the up-and-coming talents in Steward's world-famed Kronk Gym stable.
Unbeaten Detroit cruiserweight prospect Jonathan Banks tops next month's bill.
