By Keith Idec
Mike Lee already appears in a Subway commercial with baseball and football stars, but his promoters at Top Rank readily acknowledge that they’re taking a patient approach in trying to develop the 24-year-old light heavyweight’s skills.
The Notre Dame graduate’s four-round main event Friday night against Jacob Stiers (4-1, 2 KOs), of Kansas City, Mo., will mark the first time in seven professional fights that Lee (6-0, 4 KOs) will face an opponent who’ll enter the ring with a winning record.
“Just like any prospect we have, we assess how he does in a particular fight and then go from there,” said Carl Moretti, Top Rank’s vice president of boxing operations. “We’ll do the same thing off of this fight and see how he does. But so far he’s progressed beyond expectations and it’s clearly a result of the work ethic he has and the time and effort that he puts in at the gym in Houston, with [trainer] Ronnie Shields and [conditioning coach] Brian Caldwell. It’s not like he’s not earning it.”
Lee earned a finance degree from Notre Dame two years ago, a hook that immediately made him marketable because the prestigious school’s alumni association is expansive and typically supportive of fellow graduates. Moretti said Friday night’s crowd could exceed 5,000 at Notre Dame’s Joyce Center in South Bend, Ind., primarily because there’s a football game on campus Saturday.
The card headlined by Lee will be the first professional boxing show on Notre Dame’s campus. All proceeds from the event will be donated to two charities as well, the Robinson Community Learning Center in South Bend and the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation.
“Given the growth of this kid, in and out of the ring, and his popularity, there’s that saying that you fish where the fish are,” Moretti said. “Well, when you’ve got a home game for Notre Dame, with 80,000 people and not a lot to do on Friday night, I think a good percentage of them will know about the fight, come on over and see a night of fights. It’s a great opportunity.”
If he defeats Stiers, clips of Lee’s win will be broadcast by NBC during halftime of Notre Dame’s game Saturday afternoon against Michigan State. Lee, a former Chicago Golden Gloves champion from Wheaton, Ill., will watch the game from Notre Dame’s sideline.
The card Friday night isn’t televised, but the Lee-Stiers fight and several undercard bouts will be streamed live at toprank.tv, beginning at 9 p.m. EDT.
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, NJ., and BoxingScene.com.