Do any of you folks remember getting drunk for the first time? ( I'm not talking 'a little tipsy' -- I'm talking DRUNK.) Well, I sure do...
I was 13 yrs. old and at a high-school 'kegger'. I looked a few years older than my age, and at 5'10" 150.lbs, I could "handle my liquor" better than most at that age as well. However, there was a bit of an unpleasant 'surprise' in the other corner that night, one that would render me all but senseless, and left to wonder -- "Where did that truck come from???"
His name...was "The Green Demon".
"The Green Demon" (a.k.a. Rainier Ale) in it's sinister green bottle or can was all but a Northwest legend in the 80's and in years past. ( * You will still find the stuff in some local liquor stores actually ) Quite honestly..."The Demon" is about the most foul-tasting beer these lips have ever sampled, but at a very potent 10-12% alcohol content/knockout ratio -- you can see why it was somewhat in demand, especially amongst the younger crowd.
I had never met The Demon until that night, and while I DID in fact immediately sense there was something a bit different about this 'opponent' (versus some of the other 3-5% tomato cans/light beers I had previously 'knocked out') in my youthful zeal and ignorance -- I paid The Demon absolutely no respect. "Bring em on! He'll go down just like all the others!," was my battle cry.
The Demon had other ideas.
Things started off okay...but before long, they seemed to start to 'slip from my control'. This left me a bit confused. So what did I do of course? Well, like any "Irish-fighter" worth his salt, I got right back in there and started 'slugging away' (a.k.a drinking) some more! And from that point on...things just got progressively worse. My posture was slouched; my gait was unsteady; and I started doing and saying some pretty stupid things. Before I knew it, someone had jumped in to (mercifully) "call a halt to the proceedings'.
The Demon had gotten the best of me.
So what in the world does all of this have to do with young Middleweight prospect Andy Lee? Well...I'm not quite sure, but let me put it this way: Lee was 'green', he's Irish, and he ran-into-one-hell-of-an-unexpected DEMON last week named Brian Vera. And by god...if he didn't take on the look of a stubborn young drunken idiot in his encounter -- I don't know who did.
Things started off 'innocuous' enough as the (15-1 w/12KO's) 6'2" 23 yr.old Lee had expectedly deposited his foe Vera (15-1 w/10KO's 5'10" 25 yrs.) on the canvas in the first stanza. ( * I had known very, very little about Vera other than he was KO'd by a good young fighter in Jaidron Codrington in his one loss. However, I was a bit surprised to see the youngster only had that one loss on his resume, and had heard from some good sources that he has sparred with some of the best. Still...nothing really there to lead one to believe a major upset was in the makings.) In Round Two, Vera started firing back, and I casually made the comment on the phone that "this is probably a pretty good test for young Lee".
In Round Three -- Vera started firing back some more.
The tone of my voice was probably not an extremely 'alarming one', but I made the casual reference at this time that -- "This kid Vera is giving him a pretty good go, and perhaps a bit more than they had expected.."
By Round Four...in my seasoned observing eye...it was all but OVER. My comment at this juncture was the following: "By god...Lee...is not going to win this fight. As a matter of fact, he is going to get STOPPED."
At this juncture, the look on young Lee's face was one of confusion and desperation; he had NEVER been tested like this, and on national TV nonetheless. The look on Vera's face? A look of absolute CALM, FOCUS, and DETERMINATION. The difference in appearance/expression from the neck-up with these two was STARK. And before long, the differences below the neck stark as well.
By Round Five, the effects of "The Demon" perhaps taking there insidious grip, young Lee's posture was slouched, his gait unsteady, and his punches flailing. By this juncture fatigue had also set-in along with the panic and confusion. Not too mention the steady and methodical physical and psychological beating Vera was administering.
By Round Six, Lee was fighting on little more than Irish stubbornness and pure heart. His technique had completely gone south and astray from him. and there was not much more than pure youthful desperation behind his punches. It was abundantly clear at this juncture that this was not going to be just another showcase on the canvas from a young Van Gogh; this was more taking on the look of Van Gogh - in a fit of confusion and desperation - slicing his own ear off. At one point in this round, a frustrated and beaten Lee even dropped his hands and told Vera to "go ahead and give me more". Vera...calmly and methodically obliged, blasting the prized prospect with rights-and-lefts and leaving him wavering from stem-to-sternum. Lee was also landing his share as well, but it was clearly just a matter of time, as he was barely able to lift his own hands, and his legs - now stricken with fatigue and a foreign 'unsteadiness' - had all but betrayed him.
By Round Seven...it was all over. The referee stepped-in and called a halt to the proceedings.
"The Green Demon" - Brian Vera - had gotten the best of the "Green Irishman" Andy Lee on this night.
*Bizzy On Boxing*
(2008)
I've been told before Lee's recent loss by many people who I trust for an opinion that Lee was a much better prospect then John Duddy. Time will tell...Duddy wa penciled in as a probable challenger for Kelly Pavlik this summer. Duddy blew that opportunity with his last performance. I'm curious to see how and if Lee and Duddy will bounce back. 
