Up until recently, the career of Brandun Lee has been smooth sailing. But while the 23-year-old has made it look incredibly easy in the ring, he experienced his first professional hiccup during the second half of his 2022 schedule.

Heading into his showdown against Will Madera on April 16th, oddsmakers were convinced that Lee (27-0, 23 KOs) would carve through his man before enjoying a short night. However, the battle-tested veteran had other ideas. After dominating the first two rounds of their showdown, Madera changed the momentum of the fight, scoring an eye-catching knockdown in the third.

Though he was caught off guard and visibly hurt, Lee managed to shake off the cobwebs, as he grinded his way to a unanimous decision victory. In his most recent appearance since his slip-up, the California native battered Diego Gonzalo Luque to the tune of a fourth-round stoppage victory this past weekend. While it wasn’t the sort of opponent that fans were hoping for, considering how things played out against Madera, Lee admits that he wanted a relatively soft touch to ease his way back into the mix.

“This fight was just so I can go in the ring and feel comfortable again,” said Lee to BoxingScene.com. “My last, last fight, we touched the canvas for the first time so this fight we wanted to just be comfortable again.”

Now, with his confidence ostensibly in full bloom, Lee envisions a robust 2023. Although he does his best to block out the noise, he admits that he hears the constant criticism. While he doesn't take umbrage to his naysayers, Lee believes that at this stage in his development, he’s ready to take off the training wheels.

In terms of an opponent, not a single name at 140 pounds leaves an indelible impression in Lee’s mind. Instead, he prefers to place several high-caliber names in a hat before blindly choosing. Although his age would suggest that he has plenty of time to continue his slow climb to the top of the division, Lee’s just about done with taking on innocuous foes.

“We want the top 15 guys. It don’t matter who it is.”