Ludlow's Lee Bodee boxes at Worcester's City Gym in memory of dad Karl (From Ludlow Advertiser)

Ludlow's Lee Bodee boxes at Worcester's City Gym in memory of dad Karl

1:00pm Friday 1st March 2013 in Sport By Ian Morgan

LEE Bodee has been hailed for his ‘courage’ and ‘determination’ after stepping into the ring after just three weeks’ training.

The Ludlow lad fought in a boxing match in memory of his dad, Karl Bodee, who died from lung cancer in 2010.

Lee, who works in Craven Arms, should have won the mixed martial arts’ style 12-stone boxing match at Worcester’s City Gym.

But he was eventually stopped in the second round and has now agreed to fight his rival in a re-match later this year.

“Lee stopped the guy three times in the first round but the referee missed one of them,” said coach Simon Pearce, also a trustee at Ludlow Amateur Boxing Club.

“Lee should have won by default. He came out like a man possessed and stopped his opponent three times in the first round. He only had three weeks training but despite my misgivings about the contest, Lee insisted and it nearly paid off.

“At the end of the second, Lee was struggling to breathe through an injured nose so we retired him.”

Pearce, who also trains the Border Roughnecks, added: “Lee amazed us all.

“Courage and determination like Lee’s is very rare.”

Lee said he wanted to take part in the show after speaking to another local fighter, Tom Morris.

“It was a charity event for Cancer Support and I wanted to do it to commemorate my dad,”

said Lee.

“I did some amateur boxing for eight years when I was growing up and I wanted to see if I could still do it.

“I only trained for a couple of weeks and I absolutely loved it.

“When I knocked the guy to the canvas for the first time that rocked him and I should have won.”

Lee’s opponent has now asked for a re-match.

He added: “The guy wants a rematch with me and I’ve agreed to it.

“I will be using a lighter glove because the mit I used last time was too heavy for me.

“Thankfully, my nose wasn’t broken - it was just a bit of blood - so I don’t have any injuries to worry about.”