The Limerick nation stands proud today as Castleconnell man Andy Lee returns home as the first Irishman to win a world title belt in the US since 1934. The 30-year-old, faced unbeaten champion Matt Korobov for the middleweight title early Sunday morning in Las Vegas, and against all the odds came out victorious.
Lee landed in Shannon airport at 12:25 this morning and was greeted by thousands of cheering supporters who were hoping to get a glimpse of the new champion. Several thousand people are expected to attend a ‘welcome home’ event held for the boxer tonight at City Hall on Merchants Quay, Limerick. The event will be MC’d by RTE presenter Aidan Power and followed by a Q&A session with Lee, where a screen and stage have been erected to watch the fight.
Having earned the world title Lee hs expressed his dreams of defending his title in front of an Irish crowd:
”I think I have earned that and deserved that. Hopefully that will be next, maybe March, St Patrick’s Day, maybe Thomond Park or the 3Arena in Dublin, somewhere in Ireland and that would be great.”