Mike Lee humble and confident aheand of Caleb Plant dust-up!
When Mike “White Bear” Lee (21-0, 11 KO’s) challenges for Caleb “Sweet Hands” Plant’s (18-0, 10 KO’s) IBF super middleweight strap, he understands the perception that he is the underdog. Not only does he realize this, Lee is well aware of all the potential hurdles cluttering his road to victory.
He is coming down in weight straight off a 13-month layoff and fighting what is being dubbed as a more skilled fighter. While the White Bear is aware, he remains unconcerned.
While fielding questions during a recent phone presser, Lee explained to reporters at hand why he felt no pressure marching into his July 20 showdown with Plant.
Despite the frequency with which it is done these days, Lee fully understands hopping around in weight can be a very tricky proposition. For this reason, the White Bear was prepared for the jump and all the questions surrounding it.
Lee is a natural light heavyweight. Still, he had long prepared himself to move down if the right opportunity presented itself. Obviously, this title shot fit the bill as being worthy of the jump and accompanying adjustment needed to do so!
In the end, he feels that it’ll all be for his long term benefit.
“My team and I have been talking about super middleweight if there was an opportunity for a big fight for a while. So for me, it didn’t necessarily come out of left field when I got the phone call about this specific opportunity.
“I was all about it. I knew 168 wouldn’t be a problem and I knew I could bring my power and my speed down to this weight class and re-hydrate the right way.”
Along with dropping in weight, he understands this last year of inactivity is a major item of concern for many. He simply is not one of them. Like his drop in weight, the White Bear believes that proper preparation will go a long way come fight night. Given his poise on the subject, ring rust is not a big deal to Lee.
“We knew about this fight a long time ago. This wasn’t one of these things where I got a call four weeks before, six weeks before. So, I’ve been training. I’ve been busy and we were just waiting for that phone call.
“That was really it. The right opportunity. I’m really grateful my team gave me this opportunity here. So yes, we’ve had a long time to prepare for this.
“Once again, I’m excited. This is an incredible opportunity and I will make the most of it. I think I’m going to shock a lot of people. I know that this is my moment and as moments get bigger and bigger, I perform better and better.”
Overall, Lee has been rather humble, confident and whimsical about the upcoming title bout. Clearly, he believes in his power, team and ability to overwhelm the vastly skilled Plant on July 20.
Guess, we’ll have to wait until fight night to see whether he can justify his self-belief, or prove a simple case of self-delusion.
By: Bakari Simpson
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