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Tale Of The Tape: CALZAGHE vs. LACY
THU March 2, CARL RICE - The date is November 18, 1994. That evening, a 24 year old, 22-0, and hungry Roy Jones Jr. took on James Toney. Toney, 25 years old, was set to defend his Super Middleweight Championship for the 4th time. At 44-0, as well as being the pound for pound man in all of boxing, Jones was not given much of a chance against Toney. But Jones, with his lightning quickness, was able to put Toney down in the 3rd and went on to a lackluster but impressive unanimous decision, thus establishing the Roy Jones Jr. legend.
This Saturday, another Floridian will be taking on a more experienced, undefeated champion as upstart but talented Jeff Lacy heads to Manchester, England to take on Joe Calzaghe for supremacy of the super middleweight division. In this fight, Calzaghe plays Toney, as he has advantages in experience, championship rounds, and, will be going into over 40 fights undefeated. Conversely, Lacy plays Jones by coming in with a little over 20 fights, an Olympian, and, of course, from Florida. Moreover, each has characteristics of the other fighter; Calzaghe, not Lacy, has the edge in speed, whereas Lacy, not Calzaghe, has the advantage in power. And both of their styles suggest that this will be a good fight as long as it lasts. So will this fight be a replay of history, where the younger fighter shows his stuff and claims the championship?
Ringwalk
“The Pride of Wales” Joe Calzaghe, Newbridge, Wales, is 40-0 (31) and has been champion for 9 years. His professional career began in 1993 and two years later, he was crowned British Champion, winning all but one fight by knockout. Two years later, in 1997, Calzaghe would put down Champion Chris Eubank in the first round and go on to win a unanimous decision, claiming the WBO title. This was at a time that the WBO title was not considered a serious champion, which lends itself unfairly to the rational that Calzaghe should not be considered among the elite champions of his time. At 33, with his 73” reach, 5’11” height, and his southpaw style combined with his dazzling speed, Calzaghe must be respected not only as a champion, but a dominant one. In 18 title defenses, Calzaghe has KOed 10 of them and all but 1 of the other 8 was a wide unanimous decision. This proves that Calzaghe can win by boxing his way to a decision or have the fight stopped by knockout.
28 year old Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy, St. Petersburg, Florida, is also undefeated at 21-0 (17), but he recently became champion two years ago after defeating Syd Vanderpool via 8th round KO. He was a member of the much-heralded 2000 Olympic class (which featured Brian Viloria, Jermain Taylor, Calvin Brock, Ricardo Juarez, and Jose Navarro) and turned pro in 2001. Lacy would go on to knock out six of his first eight opponents and by 1993, he would have to suffer the frustration of having many of his opponents pull out of fights. But he fought on, taking on whomever would fight him in the talent deficient 168 lb. weight class. But after long time champion Sven Ottke retired in 2004, Lacy got the opportunity to fight for his first world title and did not disappoint against Vanderpool. Lacy, with a 74” reach and standing at only 5’9”, has filled out into a nice size super middleweight who possesses a wicked left hook and has recently added the right hand more prevalently to his arsenal, making him one of the most dangerous men in boxing.
Introductions
Calzaghe has been in an unfortunate predicament for some time. He has a wealth of talent but had no fighters in his weight class to showcase it against. Well, that’s somewhat misleading; he had the opportunity to fight every champion in his division but for some reason, the fight never came off. And just a division above at light heavyweight, there stood Roy Jones waiting for another career defining fight. But those fights never materialized, which contributes to why he does not receive the proper respect which has been long overdue. But included in this assessment is the level of fighters he has chosen to fight and where he fights them.
Most of his fights have taken place in his backyard against fringe contenders at best, such as Charles Brewer, Kabary Salem, and Evans Ashira. And fighters like Tocker Pudwill, Will McIntyre, and Mario Veit twice exemplifies his level of competition. Even Eubank was near the end of his career and was referred to as an inferior opponent because he was nowhere near his prime. However, he did stop champion Byron Mitchell (although somewhat controversially) and beat contenders like Omar Sheika (by 5th round TKO) and Robin Reid (UD) Some of this cannot be blamed on Calzaghe but some of it has to be, as he could have pushed for more significant fights. Then again, most of the champions at super middleweight were Europeans who were also not willing to leave the confines of home. Quite a predicament indeed. But a victory over Lacy would prove to his naysayers that he is and has been one of the best fighters in the world today.
Lacy has been on the fast track to a championship ever since he turned pro. Like his Olympic teammate Jermain Taylor, greatness was bestowed on Lacy from the beginning, mostly because of the fact that there has been a dearth of talent in both middle and super middle. But also because he has the talent to back it up. Since becoming champion, Lacy has beaten Omar Sheika by decision, stopped Rubin Williams by 8 round TKO, Robin Reid in 8, and Scott Pemberton in 2; not exactly a murderer’s row of fighters but some tough competition for a young fighter.
It’s early in Lacy’s career so it’s difficult to determine the impact he’s had on boxing thus far. But if he were to defeat Calzaghe, Lacy would have the opportunity to make some serious superfights along with a significant amount of money. Just below him at middleweight stands undefeated, undisputed champion Taylor and Winky Wright, and directly above him is Jones conquerors Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson, as well as any of the champions. All of those fights are winnable fights for Lacy, although he seems to be comfortable at 168 and may have to wait for Taylor to grow into a super middleweight. And he could still choose to stay at super middle, unify all the titles, and take on all comers.
Referee’s Instructions
The pressure of this fight is all on Calzaghe as his legacy is on the line. Many look at his being at home as an advantage, and home ring advantage has been a blessing for many fighters. But most of those are instances when fights go 12 rounds. Lacy has the power to take Calzaghe out, and besides that, he may feel the need to be impressive at home in front of all his fans taking on the best fighter he’s ever faced. This could be a disservice to Calzaghe…Zab Judah’s shocking loss exhibits how overwhelming the pressure of being at home can be, and Judah’s fight was hardly as pressure filled as this one. Calzaghe needs to first recognize that Lacy will be the stronger man, so he will need to use all of his boxing skills, staying away from Lacy’s power while throwing quick combinations and getting back on the outside. If he gets in a slugfest, that will be to his detriment because although Calzaghe has fast hands, his punching mechanics will not get the job done. He throws slapping arm punches and sometimes loops them, which would equal doom against Lacy. The question is can Calzaghe box for 12 rounds and at the same time not get caught.
Lacy only knows one way to fight, and that’s coming forward. He has shown an iron chin, not even flinching when caught with good shots. Calzaghe will be the best fighter he’s ever faced, so he can’t allow himself to get too worked up; he’ll have to stay aggressive but do it with controlled aggression. Calzaghe being a southpaw works to his advantage as his left hook is the money punch. But lately, Lacy has shown that he can box and that can be used to throw Calzaghe off if he stays away. Also, he has shown better defense, using his jab to work his way inside, rather than just coming in face first. But he must remain aggressive…in fact, he must go for the KO because it will be extremely tough to win a decision in England against a long term champion. This is not a knock against England; it’s a knock about how Champions are, for the most part, given the benefit of the doubt when fighting at home. Furthermore, Calzaghe has been down in 2 of his last 6 fights, once in the 2nd round against Byron Mitchell for the first in his career before scoring a stoppage later in the round, and then in the 4th against Kabary Salem before winning a unanimous decision. Simply put, Lacy needs to do what he does best and the fight will take care of itself.
The Fight and the Decision
If anything, Calzaghe must be given his props, because many thought that after the way his career has been guided, that he would never take this fight. But it apparently will be taking place and being the champion he is, he’s taking on the best his division has to offer. But it is regrettable that he never got to get that one big money superfight, because his champions reign is about to come to an end. The advantages Calzaghe possesses, outside of speed, are none that will actually help him in the ring, whereas all of Lacy’s advantages will all work in his favor.
The first round will only be the beginning of the end for Calzaghe, as he will find out first hand how strong Lacy really is. He will attempt attacking Lacy to get some respect, but he will get caught by Lacy and go down in the 1st round. After getting up, he will box the rest of the round to clear his head, but Lacy comes forward trying to end the fight. The 2nd and 3rd round will show Calzaghe boxing effectively, barely keeping Lacy off of him by throwing in combination while Lacy is coming in, but Lacy still comes forward and gets him trapped against the ropes on a few occasions. Round 4 will almost be a repeat of the first, only with Calzaghe going down a little harder than the first time. Although he will survive the round, in the 5th Lacy goes in for the kill, Calzaghe goes down, and the referee stops counting at 8. Lacy is a unified champion at 168 and, as was the case 22 years ago, another Floridian will make his mark on boxing and in the process, launching the legend of Left Hook Lacy.
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