Andy Lee becomes world champion trainer as Sheeraz wins WBO title

Andy Lee became a world champion trainer Saturday night when Hamzah Sheeraz stopped Alem Begic in two rounds to claim the WBO middleweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">super middleweight title at the Pyramids in Egypt. The victory came exactly 2,416 days after Lee worked his first corner for Paddy Donovan in October 2019, capping a remarkable transformation from retired fighter to elite trainer.

Lee had walked away from boxing following an eight-round decision over KeAndrae Leatherwood on the Gennady Golovkin-Danny Jacobs undercard at Madison Square Garden in March 2017. That St Patrick's Day weekend, the former middleweight champion told reporters his first child was due in June and he would return to the ring by year's end. He never did. Instead, Lee resurfaced two years later in a different role, convincing 20-year-old Donovan to let him guide his pro career.

From Kronk gym product to corner mentor

The path mirrored Lee's own climb to a title. Per The Ring's Declan Taylor, Lee spent years under Emanuel Steward at Kronk before winning the WBO middleweight strap in December 2014 after linking up with Adam Booth back in Europe. Sheeraz followed a similar route, leaving Los Angeles-based Ricky Funez for Lee last year after losing his first title shot against Carlos Adames. The switch paid off with stoppages of Edgar Berlanga and now Begic for the same maroon-strapped WBO belt Lee once held.

Sheeraz dropped Begic with a left hook to the liver in front of Golovkin, who sat ringside applauding the finish. Lee, known for avoiding interviews and letting his fighters speak, beamed as Sheeraz refused to call out Canelo and praised Funez in his post-fight remarks. "It's a funny old sport," Taylor wrote, noting the Golovkin cameo eight years after Lee had chased a shot at Triple-G.

The stable endured a rough 2024 with losses by Donovan to Lewis Crocker twice and Joseph Parker's stoppage defeat to Fabio Wardley, making the pressure on Sheeraz significant heading into Egypt. Lee's first world champion is now crowned, with Donovan's title run still to come.

Source: ringmagazine.com