By Keith Idec

Andy Lee’s dangerous right hook has enabled the resilient Irishman to erase scorecard deficits and produce memorable knockouts in his last two fights.

The WBO middleweight champion trailed on all three scorecards (50-45, 50-45, 48-47) before Lee landed a right hook that badly hurt previously unbeaten Russian Matt Korobov (24-1, 14 KOs) in the sixth round of their scheduled 12-round fight for the then-vacant crown Dec. 13 in Las Vegas. Seconds later, the fight was stopped. Six months earlier, St. Thomas’ Julian Jackson (19-2, 15 KOs) was ahead, 39-36, on all three scorecards, when Lee nailed him with a right hook that left Jackson flat on his face and ended their scheduled 10-rounder at Madison Square Garden.

His one-punch power is among the reasons Lee (34-2, 24 KOs) is confident as his first title defense nears, yet the 30-year-old title-holder acknowledged on a recent conference call that he still considers himself more boxer than puncher.

“I’m not saying it to brag or anything, but even though I was behind on the cards, at no time did I ever think I was going to lose either fight [to Korobov or Jackson],” said Lee, who’ll face former WBO champ Peter Quillin (31-0, 22 KOs) on April 11 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. “And I knew that at some stage we were going to have to trade, and with the power that I carry I know that at some point in a fight with anybody we’re going to have trade. It’s a 12-round fight and there’s going to be exchanges at some stage and I just know if I land at the right time, with my power, I can knock anybody out. That does give me great confidence.

“But in saying that, I’ve always considered myself a technical boxer. And that’s what I’ve prided myself on being. So people might’ve gotten the wrong impression of me, especially the last few fights, as this blood-and-guts fighter who comes from behind. But I’m pretty much a boxer. That’s what I pride myself on being.”

The Lee-Quillin clash will open a “PBC On NBC” broadcast scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT on April 11. The main event will pit Philadelphia’s Danny Garcia (29-0, 17 KOs) against Lamont Peterson (33-2-1, 17 KOs), of Washington, D.C., in a 12-round fight that’ll be contested at a catch weight of 143 pounds.

Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.