By Keith Idec
Mike Lee has no interest in becoming boxing’s answer to Jared, someone only famous for Subway commercials.
While the undefeated light heavyweight truly appreciates how much being a Subway spokesman has helped him reach audiences he otherwise couldn’t, he is much more focused on what occurs inside the boxing ring. On Friday night, Lee hopes to demonstrate some of the improvements he believes he has made over the past few months while working with trainer Ronnie Shields in Houston.
Lee (8-0, 5 KOs), of Wheaton, Ill., is scheduled to encounter Denver’s Isaiah Barela (4-2, 3 KOs) in a six-round fight that’ll be broadcast as part of ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights” telecast from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino (10 p.m. EDT/7 p.m. EDT). The main event Friday night will pit former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik (38-2, 33 KOs), of Youngstown, Ohio, against Scott Sigmon (22-3, 12 KOs), of Lynchburg, Va., in a 10-round super middleweight fight.
“That’s more important to me than anything, to be honest,” Lee said of improving in the ring. “I think everything else can fall into place. I’m so grateful we’ve had incredible opportunities like Subway and other things that have gotten me some national exposure, because this sport is a business, too. So in that aspect, I’m very grateful. But to me, I’m focused on what’s going on in the ring. I want to show people that I’m getting better, continue to get experience and continue to keep winning. That’s are the most important things to me.
“I’m not trying to belittle or look down on any promotional or sponsorship opportunities that I’ve had. But all I know is I’m putting all this hard work in to someday become a world champion. That’s really where my focus is right now.”
Lee’s handlers at Top Rank Inc. realize the 24-year-old Notre Dame graduate will need to improve plenty before he can become a legitimate contender at 175 pounds, let alone a world champion. That’s why they’ve matched him so carefully since he made his pro debut two years ago.
His last win, a fourth-round technical knockout Dec. 3 at Madison Square Garden, came against an opponent, Denver’s Allen Medina, who took an abysmal 9-19-1 record into their fight. After winning his first four professional fights, Barela has lost his last two fights, one by technical knockout. His fight against Lee will mark the former heavyweight/cruiserweight’s debut at light heavyweight.
“After my fight in Madison Square Garden, I went home, spent some time with family and friends during the holidays,” said Lee, who has appeared in Subway commercials with Clippers star Blake Griffin, Olympic swimming legend Michael Phelps and former Giants All-Pro defensive end Michael Strahan. “Then I got right back to it, and me and Ronnie were back in the gym.”
Lee has sparred many rounds against undefeated super middleweight contender Edwin Rodriguez (21-0, 14 KOs), whom Shields also trains, since his last fight. He has learned a lot, too, from watching Rodriguez and crafty Cuban southpaw Erislandy Lara hone their skills at Willie Savannah’s gym, especially from what they do defensively.
“I think my jab is one of the things we’ve really been working on over this time period,” Lee said. “In sparring and everything we’ve been doing, we’ve been focusing on the jab and throwing combinations off of it. That’s only made my balance better and my combinations faster and crisper. I’m excited to show people that and I’m excited to have such a big audience on June 8th for that.”
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com.
