DUBLIN, Ireland - If you head south from central Dublin and stay close to the coastline you will eventually reach a precipice known affectionately as The Forty Foot.

Dubliners have swam in the icey water beneath it for centuries and the area even played host to the opening scene of James Joyce’s 1920s masterpiece Ulysses.

A regular in the water these days is former world middleweight champion turned trainer Andy Lee, who grew up across Ireland in Limerick, but now lives and works in the capital.

The most recent addition to Lee’s stable is the undefeated puncher Hamzah Sheeraz, who decided to make the switch to Dublin in the wake of his disappointing split draw with Carlos Adames in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, four months ago.

Sheeraz had been widely tipped to beat Adames and claim the WBC middleweight title, but things did not go to plan. In the end, many suggested he was lucky to get a draw and Sheeraz knew instantly that he needed a change.

After five years with Ricky Funez in California, the 26-year-old decided that Lee, emerging as one of the world’s finest and most successful coaches, should facilitate his move up to super middleweight. Their first assignment comes in the form of another noted puncher, Edgar Berlanga, on The Ring III card in Queens, New York on July 12, but for Lee it was a journey that had to start at The Forty Foot.

"It has been very organic," Sheeraz says of his new working relationship with Lee.

"What I like about him is he's worked on understanding me as a person before worrying about how I am as a fighter. The two go hand in hand eventually.

"When I first started here, in the first couple of weeks, we would go on walks together and he would ask me questions about all sorts of things. Random topics, just chatting. The other day we went on a walk and we were talking about whether the Earth was flat or round. They are little conversations, but he knows what he is doing.

"We walk along the coastline, up to The Forty Foot. It's beautiful up there, you've got the sea and it's just good vibes. We go up there, walk and jump off the cliff into the Irish Sea. Natural ice bath."

As a fighter, Lee trained under Emanuel Steward at the Kronk Gym in Detroit, Michigan, before moving on to work with Adam Booth. Both of those relationships went well beyond a standard fighter-trainer set-up, and Lee’s own work as a coach has been a continuation of that.

In particular, world heavyweight contender Joseph Parker has credited Lee for his incredible winning run which has taken him to the brink of another world title shot. "Trainer?" Parker told The Ring earlier this year. "He's family to me."

Sheeraz continues: “All of it has allowed the way he instructs me to be much clearer. I have found that already during this camp.

"The changes have been subtle, he hasn't just said 'right I'm going to change how you fight drastically.' But the little changes we have made look like I've made drastic changes. It all feels like what I should have done from the start."

Dublin is just the latest stop on a reasonably nomadic 22-fight career to date. As well as London, Sheeraz has spent time training in Murcia, Spain, before the semi-permanent switch to Los Angeles, California, which involved a different Air BnB in the surrounding areas every time.

"Once you get used to understanding how a camp works, wherever you are in the world, it doesn't really matter," he adds. "The principle of the camp is the same.

"But that being said, Dublin has been beautiful, the people are great, the vibes are great. It's been real good energy here.

"The days are good. They go one of three ways; a walk and a cliff jump, a look around the city centre or just chill at home and relax. But I'm still in Air BnBs, don't worry about that."

During his eye-catching surge towards the middleweight world title shot, Sheeraz was labelled the British Tommy Hearns by Frank Warren, and while hyperbole may be his promoter's job there are certainly similarities between him and the legendary Motor City Cobra.

Both boasting tall, long, wiry frames with unfathomable power behind, in particular, their straight shots with both hands. Lee's association with The Kronk, therefore, made this alliance a natural one.

"I assume he is attempting to instill those same qualities in me," Sheeraz says when asked about the Kronk connection. "It has all been about using my long levers and maximising those advantages.

"It's not easy because you're using different muscles, fighting in a different posture than you're used to. You can see it just from our padwork that the change is clear. I've got the hang of it now, but I have to put it into practice on fight night."

Sheeraz and Berlanga have a combined record of 44-1-1 with 35 knockouts between them so, in an era when "Tom and Jerry fights" are now outlawed, this seems like a shootout waiting to happen. Lee, an architect of 24 KOs of his own, has often spoken of Kronk’s knockout addiction, with just winning never seen as enough inside those fabled Detroit walls.

So does Sheeraz anticipate he and Berlanga making it to the final bell. "Listen," he replies. "If there's a chance this goes the distance then we are ready for that. It's simple.

"It will be exciting for however long it lasts."