Sunday Punch: Andy Lee’s epic comeback KO vs. John Jackson

Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images

Andy Lee was losing badly... until he wasn’t.

MMA fans remember Chris Leben’s penchant for comeback wins after absorbing a ton of damage. The closest recent boxing analogue I can think of is Ireland’s Andy Lee, who is the star of this weekend’s Sunday Punch.

On June 7th, 2014 at Madison Square Garden in New York, Lee took on John Jackson on the undercard of Miguel Cotto vs. Sergio Martinez. In the early stages, Jackson dominated and dropped Lee in the very first round, marking the first time that Lee had ever been knocked down.

Lee survived the knockdown but didn’t win any of the next three rounds, and in round five it looked as if Jackson was ready to close the show. Andy was in serious trouble, Jackson was on the attack, and then Lee walloped Jackson with a vicious right hand that turned the tables around in stunning fashion.

Watch the highlights at the top of the page. And yes, the knockout in this video looks eerily similar to Cody Garbrandt’s demolition of Raphael Assuncao from UFC 250.

Lee’s other notable comeback win was a TKO of Matt Korobov for the WBO middleweight belt in 2014. While he didn’t have a comeback win in his next bout vs. Peter Quillin, he did recover from a knockdown and put Quillin down for the first time in his career to salvage a draw. His magic ran out against Billy Joe Saunders, who dropped him twice, only for Lee to rally and come up short on the scorecards.

After beating KeAndrae Leatherwood in 2017, Lee retired in 2018 with a record of 35-3-1 (24 KOs). Jackson (21-3, 16 KOs) is technically still an active boxer, but it’ll be hard to return to the ring when you’re on trial for rape and other criminal charges.