Brandun Lee fighting for big win, new promoter on Aug. 6 at Madison Square Garden
Brandun Lee’s contract with his promoter, Cameron Dunkin, expired this summer and the La Quinta resident will take a 25-0 record into his Aug. 6 fight at Madison Square Garden without a promotional contract.
The bout, against New York native Will Madera, will provide Lee with a platform to attract what he and his father and trainer, Bobby, hope will be a major promotional deal that could help better position Lee for the next stage of his fight career.
Lee, 23, will fight on the pay-per-view undercard of the Jake Paul versus Hasim Rahman Jr. main event on Showtime. Paul, a controversial social media personality who is unbeaten in five professional bouts, has reportedly drawn more than 2.2 million PPV buys in his three fights as the main event.
“Cameron did a beautiful job with Brandun,” Bobby Lee said. “But Brandun’s a free agent now and we’re exploring our options.”
This will be the first time Lee (25-0, 22 knockouts) will fight in a major venue on the East Coast. He’s coming off a unanimous decision victory over Zachary Ochoa at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on April 16 and the belief inside Lee’s camp is that this bout will provide Lee with more exposure to fans and the sport’s biggest promoters.
More: As money continues to be the driving force, it's harder and harder to be a sports fan
More: Learning the AHL: Let's think big, how do you make the playoffs and can the Firebirds do it?
Lee, a Korean and Mexican American who fights in the 140-pound junior welterweight division, is entering a crucial point in his career. While still young, he’s a veteran in the sport and is nearing a point where should be positioned to fight for a world title within the next couple of years provided he maintains strong results. Having a promoter who will help navigate that path while raising Lee’s profile will help in that pursuit.
“I’m ready for those challenges,” Lee said at his home in June. “I’m motivated.”
The first challenge will come against Madera (17-1-3, 10 KOs), an Albany native who is also making his MSG debut.
Madera, 31, is a veteran who provides Lee with another difficult opponent as Lee turns up the competition. Dunkin and Bobby Lee agreed to begin Brandun’s career slowly after he turned pro as a senior at La Quinta High School in 2016. Lee was 17 at the time.
Lee was 181-9 as an amateur and was featured on the cover of The Ring magazine at the age of 11, a boxing prodigy in the making. But the idea was to take it slow and, 5-6 years into his pro career start ramping up the competition.
That time has now come, and the next chapter is beginning.
Though the motivation to be a world champion is the same, Lee said, his dad noticed at the start of his most recent training camp that Brandun wasn’t quite as fired up as usual. Lee told his dad that it was because he didn’t have a fight date yet and he didn’t know where or who he’d be fighting. There was no longer a promoter feeding him that information.
So, the elder Lee picked up the phone and called his contact at Showtime, and within five minutes they had a date and a venue. That was all the younger Lee needed to rekindle the fire that he now says he’s bringing to this fight.
That motivation has always been important to his dad, but especially this time, as the two prepare for a fight at MSG, without a promoter, in what is being viewed as a big opportunity.
“I had to make sure that he’s 100%,” Bobby Lee said of his son, “and ready for this opportunity. Now I know he is.”
Andrew John covers sports for The Desert Sun and the USA Today Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com and find him on Twitter at @Andrew_L_John.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Brandun Lee ready for big opportunity on Jake Paul undercard at MSG
