By Thomas Gerbasi
Mike Lee may be living in the land of sun and sand in Los Angeles these days, but that blue collar Chicago blood still runs through his veins. It’s why he took the barbs from fans and media, battled through injuries that kept him on the sidelines for over a year and a half and still decided that getting into the ring was something he wanted to do. Because where he comes from, you finish what you start.
“I’ve gone through so much these last few years as a pro that I feel that I’ve gone through great times, I’ve gone through tough times, a lot of things in and out of the ring I’ve said yes to, whether it be in front of the camera or different experiences that I’ve had, and I’ve definitely had haters along the way, like everybody does,” Lee said. “At times at the beginning of my career, it was tough to see that, but then I realized that if you’re doing something of importance, then you’re always going to have people that don’t agree with you and don’t think that you are what you know you are.”
Lee is a fighter. He knows that, and he always has. It’s just certain segments of the outside world that needed a little convincing. Sure, he’s unbeaten in 17 pro fights and he’s done everything asked of him, but it’s everything else that brought resentment: the media attention, the Subway commercials, and just the idea that he’s more hype than championship material.
The 29-year-old took it all with grace, yet after picking up his 11th win over Paul Harness in September of 2012, he had to figure out whether he still wanted to deal with it.
“I had – like many fighters do – an 18-month layoff because of injuries, and it really taught me a lot about myself,” Lee said. “I went through some tough times where I wondered if I would be healthy enough to fight again. Do I want to do this, is this dream and desire still alive? And once I was able to get back in the ring, I had more of a passion for it, so I think it ended up being a blessing in disguise.”
Returning in April of 2014, Lee has since gone 6-0 with four knockouts, signed with DiBella Entertainment, and tonight, he will face Chris Traietti for the USBA light heavyweight title. A win puts him in the 175-pound rankings, which means he could be in line for a world title shot in 2017. That’s quite the jump, but he feels ready for it.
“I’ve been fighting tougher opponents and more rounds and I feel like I’m at a good stage in my career, and this fight on the 30th will really highlight that and put me on a platform and in the rankings, and that’s exactly what I want,” he said. “We’ve built up to this, I’m ready for it, and I’m excited.”
Adding to Lee’s excitement is the fact that he will be competing in the biggest fight of his career at home in Chicago, the first time he will do so since a win over Paul Gonsalves in July of 2014.
“Coming home to fight for a belt like this is a really big deal,” he said. “But not only that, I’ve already had amazing support from friends and family and, quite honestly, from the people of Chicago, to take this title and win it for Chicago and keep working my way up. It’s a great fight for me for many reasons, and to be able to do it in front of a home crowd is just a dream come true.”
The dream is what still pushes Lee. As a graduate from the University of Notre Dame with a finance degree, he could have done anything he wanted to and made a lot of money, all without getting razzed on Twitter. But this is the path he’s on, and he’s not stopping until he gets to where he wants to go.
“Someday, when my boxing career is over, I’m going to look back and regret the things I didn’t do,” he said. “I’m not going to regret the things I did and went for, whether I failed, whether I lost a fight or whether I won it. I have an amazing opportunity here to go for this dream and accomplish a lot of things along the way, so doing all these things only gives me more energy. It only helps me and puts more pressure on me to work harder and become these things that I believe I can become.”
