Boxing: Flanked by Emanuel Stewart on one side and promoter Brian Peters on the other, Andy Lee yesterday had the relaxed air of a fighter who knows what direction his career is headed.

Unbeaten now in 11 fights, the Limerick southpaw gets first attempt at a title in the professional ranks when he meets Jason McKay for the vacant Super Middleweight title in the National Stadium tonight.

For anyone who cares to listen to the famous Kronk Gym trainer, Stewart, Lee has a future as a world middleweight champion.

But in McKay's camp, the accusations that Lee has little heart to go to war in the ring seemed to genuinely irk the former amateur champion. "Andy Lee is the best middleweight in the world bar none," said Stewart.

McKay's trainer, John Breen, had a different view.

"I used to think he has a stamina problem as an amateur. People who travelled with him said he had no heart," said the Belfast man as the two camps sought to gain a psychological edge.

It is expected to be a tough test for Lee, as his opponents to date have been hand picked by Stewart.

McKay represents the first of real threat and ambition. He is the reigning Irish light-heavyweight champion and his performance against Lee will, if nothing else, show exactly how good the fighter has become since he moved to Detroit and turned professional.

"John has questioned my heart and made it personal," said 23-year-old Lee. "This is just another fight on my résumé. Jason McKay is a good fighter. If he beats me then he's on the up. But I'm coming here to win. After the first round I'll have him sussed out."

McKay has fought 18 times and lost once and lays claim to be the last man to beat John Duddy, which he did as an amateur in the Ulster championships.

That one blemish to his record came when he lost on a points decision to Paul Buchanan in 2004. McKay floored the Englishman in the fifth, but was never credited with the knockdown and despite appearing to dominate the fight was deemed to have lost by one point on the referee's scorecard.

McKay also believes that if he can take Lee into the later rounds, he will have a chance.

"With the greatest respect to some of his opponents, they weren't there to win, they were there to survive," said McKay. "I'll be there to win. You can be sure of that and with my experience let's see how he likes it when he is asked some serious questions in the later rounds."

In his last fight in Ireland, Lee stopped Belfast's Ciarán Healy, who admittedly came in with only a week's notice after four other opponents had pulled out of the bout for various reasons.

But Lee has established himself as a stylist and an effective puncher. In his eighth fight he knocked out the former WBA world champion Carl Daniels in front of a watching Jake LaMotta, who was at ringside.

It was the first time the veteran had been knocked out cold in 59 fights.

"This is by far the biggest fight in terms of exposure for me and it's a dream to come back here and win a title. Tomorrow I will do that," said Lee.

"I've fought some good fellas in America, in their home towns, in Germany twice, in Vegas and in New York. He's in his prime now and it's a big opportunity for him. I'll be taking nothing for granted in this fight."

Super-Middleweight Andy Lee v Jason McKay

Tonight, National Stadium Live on RTÉ 2.