Lee-Vera rematch added to Martinez-Barker undercard

Irish middleweight standout Andy Lee, of Detroit, will begin preparing for an Oct. 1 rematch toward avenging his lone defeat in 27 bouts against Brian Vera of Austin, Tex., Lee's trainer, Manny Steward, told RingTV.com.

Vera-Lee II will take place on the HBO-televised undercard of the main event featuring RING middleweight champ  Sergio Martinez (47-2-2, 26 knockouts) and England's Darren Barker (23-0, 14 KOs) at Boardwalk Hall in Atlancit City.

A winner of 11 straight fights, including seven by knockout since being stopped by Vera in the seventh round in March of 2008, the 27-year-old Lee (26-1, 19 KOs) will begin working with Steward at Detroit's Kronk Gym "in the next couple of days," the legendary trainer said.

Last month, the 29-year-old Vera (19-5, 12 KOs) Vera scored an eighth-round knockout of Eloy Suarez that followed February's split-decision win over ex-junior middleweight title holder Sergio Mora (22-2-2, 6 KOs).

Vera had been among those being considered as September 24 challenge to WBC middleweight belt-holder Julio Cesar Chavez (43-0-1, 30 KOs), along with Japan's Nobuhiro Ishida (23-6-2, eight KOs), Texas' David Medina (23-2, 11 KOs) and Michigan's Ronald Hearns (26-2, 20 KOs).