Boxing

Exclusive: Brandun Lee Ready To Focus On Boxing After Earning Bachelors Degree

Brandun Lee returns to the ring after a nearly 11-month layoff on June 21 when he faces Elias Araujo.
Nathaniel Marrero|
Brandun Lee celebrates after a unanimous decision win over Pedro Campa on July 4, 2023.
Brandun Lee celebrates after a unanimous decision win over Pedro Campa on July 4, 2023. | IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire

As Brandun Lee sat down for a talk with his mother, Laura Lee, it became clear what the immediate future would hold for him. 

His mother made her wishes known to him, among them being that he one day earn his bachelor's degree. Deciding to pursue that goal meant taking a break from boxing as he was on the verge of going from one of boxing’s top prospects to a contender. 

“My mom sat me down and had a serious talk with me, and was like two things I want for you are for you to be safe and healthy, but another thing was to finish my degree and give her grandchildren,” Lee told KO on SI. “The grandchildren is going to have to wait, but the degree, that's something that I was able to work on right away.”

Ultimately, the decision was easy for Lee, and it paid off, as he earned his bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Cal State San Bernardino on May 16. Now, after balancing boxing and school since he was 17 years old, Lee can focus on the sport he first started when he was 6 years old. 

“I missed boxing every single day,” Lee said. “I wasn't there physically, I was there mentally. I was still going to the gym just to go spar and I kept telling myself the day I get beat up is the day I'll start going to the gym every day. That didn’t happen, so I kept going to the gym once a week.”

Lee (29-0, 23 KOs), 26, makes his return after a nearly 11-month layoff on June 21 when he faces Elias Araujo (22-5, 9 KOs) at the Prudential Center in New Jersey. Lee last fought on July 27 when he defeated Juan Anacona by decision in the UK.

The degree isn’t the only significant change for Lee. He’s hired renowned trainer Robert Garcia to be his new coach. With Garcia as his new coach, he’s sharing the gym with some of boxing’s top talents, including WBC junior bantamweight champion and pound-for-pound great Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, interim WBC junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr and interim IBF lightweight champion Raymond Muratalla.

Lee had been trained by his father, Bobby Lee. Finding a new trainer was something Lee’s father anticipated happening, though, and things fell into place with Lee looking to move out and finding a home that was closer to Garcia’s gym in Riverside, California. With Garcia now as the chief second, his father will become a spectator the next time Lee steps into the ring.

“Ever since I was a young age, my father’s always preached that ​​one day I'm going to run out of things to teach you,” Lee said.

“Eventually, we’re going to have to look for a coach. It kind of happened at the right time, because I was looking at moving out on my own, and I was looking at a city called Irvine in Orange County, and it's a little closer (to Robert Garcia). My parents live in La Quinta, California, which is about an hour and a half from Riverside and Irvine's maybe about an hour or 45 minutes. So kind of all happened at the right time. But primarily, my father was ready to give me up to the next trainer.”

“It's motivated me a ton,” Lee said of joining forces with Garcia and his stable. “I've always said that I want to surround myself with greatness, and that's really what it is. I'm training with Bam. Bam is a pound-for-pound champion. He's only like 5-foot-2, but, man, he walks around like he's the most humble guy ever. But we all know he's that dude in the world and pound-for-pound king.”

In a crowded 140-pound division, the path to Lee’s first world title shot may not be a quick one. He must impressively get past Araujo before he can get back on the radar at junior welterweight. 

If everything breaks right, the IBF title is one he’s had his sights on dating back to when Subriel Matias had the belt from 2023 to 2024 before suffering an upset loss to Liam Paro. Richardson Hitchins (19-0, 7 KOs) now has the belt after defeating Paro and will make the first defense of his title one week earlier on June 14 when he faces former unified lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. (22-3, 10 KOs) at The Theater at Madison Square Garden.

First, though, Lee has his sights on making a statement on June 21 before moving on to bigger and better things later in 2025.

“I’m extremely excited,” Lee said. “I don't wanna say this is my comeback fight. This is a fight where everyone's going to see, ‘Okay, Brandun, he's done with school, so let me see when you see what Robert's teaching him.’ I can't wait to put on a great show.”

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Nathaniel Marrero
NATHANIEL MARRERO

Nathaniel Marrero is a writer for the Boxing, Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Ravens On SI sites. He's also written for the Orlando Sentinel and MLB.com, and was a part of UCF's sports show, Hitting The Field. He attended UCF and graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism in 2023. Twitter/X: Nate_Marrero

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