Irish amatuer team used to study Lee world title foe Korobov

ANDY Lee will not be the only Irish fighter to have studied Matvey Korobov in great detail.

The Limerick man, a pure student of the game will most likely watch hours of Korobov footage in preparation for the December 13 Las Vegas hosted clash for the vacant WBO middleweight championship of the World.

However, Lee won’t be the only Irish fighter to have taken in a host of Korobov fights. It seems Korobov was the viewing of choice for the Irish amateur team in recent times.

Tyrone McKenna, who is off to spar the Russian ahead of his clash with former World title challenger, Lee, revealed the Irish team used to study Korobov on a weekly basis.

The two time World amateur champion set the bench mark the Irish coaches felt Irish punchers to aspire too.

Korobov hasn’t exploded onto the pro scene in the manner which most predicted, but the former amateur superstar remains unbeaten and is soon to be a World title challenger.

“When I was in the Irish Senior Team we used to watch his videos on a weekly basis,” McKenna told IFL TV last weekend.

“He was one of the best amateurs around. We used to study him to see what was the best way to be an amateur. As an amateur he looked good then he slowed up a bit. When he turned pro he didn’t do what everyone expected him to do.”