“Lee Living Real-life ?Rudy? Tale”

Writes Kevin Iole:

“For as long as he could remember, he wanted to attend college at Notre Dame. He had to start his college career, though, at another school before transferring. He dreamed of achieving athletic greatness while a student there, but found few who shared his belief that he could succeed.

“He was wasting his time, they told him. He should use his mind, they said.

“Rudy Ruettiger heard the critics, but he lived his dream of playing football for the Fighting Irish. His story was immortalized in the popular 1993 movie, “Rudy.”

“And on Saturday, Mike Lee, who is striving to become the 21st-century Rudy, will continue his pursuit of a boxing world championship when he fights Alex Rivera on a Top Rank card at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas.

“Lee, 23, graduated with a degree in finance from Notre Dame, where he carried a 3.8 grade point average, and could be earning a six-figure living on Wall Street. He’s the prototypical All-American boy, an outgoing, handsome, photogenic young man who could easily wind up on the cover of the school’s yearbook.

“Some day, he may pursue a Wall Street career. But on Wednesday, he was sitting in a ballroom at the Palms, rubbing shoulders with boxers who have essentially been fighters since birth, explaining what caused him to give up on a lucrative business career in order to pursue the longshot dream of becoming the light heavyweight champion of the world.”

Read the full profile HERE.