ANDY LEE is the new WBO middleweight champion after stopping the highly-touted Matt Korobov in six rounds at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.
The Irishman, who set up the shot with a glorious one-punch knockout of John Jackson, turned this fight around with one right hook. The contest was competitive after five sessions, but Korobov appeared to be edging it. And then came that defining Irish punch.
“I’ve never been hurt before,” said Korobov after suffering the first defeat of his career. “I caught a bad hook to the chin and couldn’t recover.”
Following the right hook, Korobov was hammered before referee Kenny Bayless stepped in to rescue him at 1-10 of the round.
The Adam Booth-trained Lee moved to 34-2 (24) with the victory. It was his second attempt at a world title following a 2012 loss to then-WBC boss Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr in 2012.
“This title is for the man who made me, Emanuel Steward,” Lee said in tribute to his first professional coach who passed away just over two years ago.
Lee’s first defence is likely to come against Billy Joe Saunders, who recently beat Chris Eubank Jnr to secure mandatory status.
FOR THE FULL LAS VEGAS RINGSIDE REPORT DOWNLOAD BOXING NEWS ON TUESDAY
