Although he left the ring for 16 months due to surgery, the 2019 "dark horse" Kevin Lee completely conquered the hearts of boxing fans in just one game. On November 8, "ONE Championship: Top of Destiny" Manila's Asian Mall, Kevin Lee, who returned to the arena, erupted like a volcano, and OPMMA featherweight champion "King" Paul Lumisi could not stop Kevin Lee's attack, his nose and jaw were crushed by Kevin Lee, and he fell to the ground after holding on for 2 minutes and 40 seconds. Foreign commentators marveled at Kevin Lee's strength at the edge of the ring: "He's a monster, a beast!" ”
A hearty KO has made Kevin Lee the most watched star in the weight and featherweights, including former champion "Silencer" Kevin Bellingang and "Pretty Boy" Terry Walson mentioned the Chinese "dark horse" when talking about potential future competitors. The ONE Championships announced the first official ranking of athletes, ranking its 550 signed boxers, listing the champions of each class and the top five boxers. Kevin Lee, who impressed boxing fans with his strong KO, did not appear in the top five lists of featherweight and chickweight, and some Chinese boxing fans regretted it.
"There are boxing fans and friends asking me why I didn't make it into the ONE rankings. I would say that rankings are just numbers for me. I don't take this seriously, what I really care about is whether I can bring everyone a wonderful game, which is the value of athletes. In a way, having a ranking also means having a limit, and without ranking there is no limit. My nickname is The Underdog, and I can beat the champion without being seen, and that's how dark horses are. ”
Because of the epidemic, Kevin Lee has been trapped in the United States for more than 4 months. Originally, he planned to prepare for a month or two in the Alpha boy band to improve his overall level, but the epidemic in the United States developed rapidly, disrupting Kevin Lee's arrangement. "Now I'm back in Los Angeles and training in isolation at home. Some time ago, I gained a lot from training in the Alpha Boy Band, and learned a lot of new things, enough for me to digest for a while. I don't want to stay in my comfort zone all the time, I'd rather drift and pay more than choose comfort at the age of hard work. Now my mentality has changed a little bit in the past few years, I used to love face, and now I will lower my posture. For this sport, there are too many things to learn, including me and Song Yadong, we are still just in the novice village, even if we become champions, it is not the end, we must continue to improve to defend our title. If you want to become a superstar, you have to lower your posture and work harder than anyone. ”
In the past, boxing fans' impression of Kevin Lee was "dare to say and dare to do", he called the featherweight champion Ruan Martin, "Stone Fist" Reinker, and took becoming China's first double-class champion as his goal. Now Kevin Lee's goal remains the same, and the ranking has not made him lose confidence, but has given him more motivation.
"As one of the first athletes to sign one, I've been playing in one championships for 6 years. What I want is respect, and I will earn respect with my fists. Now maybe I'm not in the rankings, and no amount of talk can change this fact, but as long as I am given the opportunity, I will go to the boxing ring to prove that ranking does not represent real strength, and I have to KO them anyone who meets the top five. I hope that these ranked boxers will also have the courage to accept my challenge and not dare to fight. ”