Andy Lee completed a triumphant weekend for Irish boxing last night, with a unanimous decision victory over KeAndrae Leatherwood, on the undercard of the Gennady Golovkin's v Danny Jacobs title fight.
The judges scored the bout as 80-72, 78-74 and 79-73, in what was Lee's first competitive appearance since losing his his WBO world title to Billy Joe Saunders in December 2015.
The victory comes just 24 hours after Michael Conlan made his professional debut, with a third-round stoppage against Tim Ibarra.
Lee was originally named as a potential replacement for Jacobs, should he withdraw from the middleweight clash with Golovkin through injury.
But the 32-year-old proceeded with the scheduled eight-round fight against Leatherwood, and the victory brings Lee's fight record up to 35-3-1.
After the fight, Lee revealed to the press that his wife is expecting their first baby in June. He will be taking a break to prepare for the big arrival, with a view to targeting his next competitive fight in September.
@AndyLeeBoxing shake off the ring rust and back to winning! Up the Irish!! pic.twitter.com/gl7WYzv9zj
— Adam Booth (@boxingbooth) March 19, 2017
Good man @AndyLeeBoxing! Enjoy the rest of Paddy's weekend.
— Ger Gilroy (@gergilroy) March 19, 2017
Winning return after over a year out for @AndyLeeBoxing Cagey fight v Leatherwood but good to blow some rust off. Unanimous decision.
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) March 19, 2017
Great to see you back @AndyLeeBoxing, onwards and upwards!
— Donnchadh Seán (@Donnchadh_Sean) March 19, 2017
