Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank

A wicked counter-right hook from Andy Lee dashed any dreams of Matt Korobov avenging his amateur loss to Gennady Golovkin. As a matter of fact, Andy Lee may have punched his ticket to a future showdown with GGG as he scored a scintillating sixth-round TKO to win the vacant WBO middleweight title.

For years, Korobov had slowly but surely been prepped to take the middleweight world by storm. He finally had his opportunity against the rough and rugged Andy Lee, whose never-say-die attitude would once again bail him out. The result was Lee winning the biggest fight of his career thus far.

It started at a slow pace as Korobov plucked away with his amateur pedigree while Lee was unable to get anything of substance off. But in the third round Lee rocked Korobov with a combination and it appeared that he may have found something. But the Russian got back on his horse and appeared to slightly outwork Lee.

And then it happened

Lee, who was down 50-45 on two of the judges’ scorecards, delivered a punch that his late trainer and father figure, Emanuel Steward, would be proud of. During a furious exchange, Lee uncorked a right hand that smashed into the side of Korobov’s head and completely devastated his equilibrium. Smelling blood in the water, Lee fired away at his dazed opponent until referee Kenny Bayless called a halt to the bout at the 1:10 mark.

“When I thought about this moment, I had a speech in mind,” an emotional Lee said afterward. “I would like to say thank you to my manger who has done so much for me over the last couple of years. But it’s also for the man who made me, Emanuel Steward. We spent seven or eight years together and he said I would win a world title.”

With Steward’s wife, Marie, ringside, Lee said he had to throw his “killer” punch and it changed what he thought was a nightmare into a dream.

“I am champion now and I want to defend my belt in Ireland.”