Andy Lee becomes world champion trainer with Hamzah Sheeraz win

Andy Lee, who last stepped through the ropes at Madison Square Garden in March 2017, has reached the summit again — this time from the corner. The former middleweight world champion became a world champion trainer Saturday when Hamzah Sheeraz dismantled Alem Begic in two rounds to claim the WBO super middleweight belt at the Pyramids in Egypt.

Lee retired after an eight-round decision over KeAndrae Leatherwood on the Gennady Golovkin-Danny Jacobs undercard, telling reporters that night his first child was on the way and he would "be tied up for a bit," per The Ring. He never returned to the ring as a fighter. Instead, the Limerick southpaw joined DAZN as an analyst before moving into training full-time in 2019, initially guiding 20-year-old Paddy Donovan toward a pro debut that October.

Sheeraz delivers Lee's first title in the corner

Sheeraz turned to Lee after losing his first world title shot to Carlos Adames in February 2024. The partnership paid immediate dividends — the Ilford fighter flattened Edgar Berlanga in five rounds before overwhelming Begic to secure the maroon-strapped WBO strap, the same sanctioning body belt Lee once held at middleweight. "It's the very same sanctioning body belt, with its maroon strap, that Lee had once held," The Ring noted in its coverage of the Pyramids card.

Lee's stable endured a rough 2024 before Saturday's breakthrough. Donovan dropped two fights to Lewis Crocker. Joseph Parker was stopped by Fabio Wardley. The pressure on Sheeraz, installed as a heavy favourite against Begic, landed squarely on the understated Irish trainer, who has avoided interviews and let results do the talking. Sheeraz delivered with a body-shot finish that drew applause from a ringside observer: Golovkin, the same man who headlined Lee's final night as a fighter seven years earlier.

The new champion paid tribute to his former coach Ricky Funez in his post-fight remarks and declined to call out Canelo Alvarez, a moment of restraint that mirrored the professionalism Lee cultivated under Emanuel Steward at Kronk. Lee claimed his own WBO middleweight title in December 2014 by stopping Matvey Korobov, a victory that came more than two years after Steward's death but cemented the great trainer's legacy. Now Lee has his first world champion. Donovan, still unbeaten since the Crocker setbacks, is expected to follow.

Source: ringmagazine.com