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LACY BY TKO IN HIS SECOND TITLE DEFENSE By Oleg Bershadsky |
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LACY BY TKO IN HIS SECOND TITLE DEFENSE By Oleg Bershadsky |
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The fight strategy was clear for both opponents. Williams tried to use his
height and reach to keep Lacy on the outside, while the champion tried to get
inside and force the challenger to trade up close. Both Lacy and Williams were
successful in implementing their respective strategies in spots and this made
for a very action packed, competitive fight. While on the outside Williams was able to control the fight with his stiff
jab and great movement around the ring. However, as the fight progressed Lacy’s
superior power and continuous work to the body began to wear Williams down. As
Williams began to move less and use his jab with diminishing frequency Lacy
simply took over and imposed his power on his opponent. To the credit of Rubin
Williams he not only showed heart and a good chin by taking a prolific amount of
punishment on the ropes, but he also showed great ring awareness by keeping his
wits about him and having the presence of mind to land hard counter rights off
the ropes. Ultimately Williams simply absorbed too much punishment to have a chance to
win the fight. In round 7, Lacy sensing that Williams was hurt and beginning to
wear down, came out with the intention of ending the fight right than and there.
He pinned Williams against the ropes and just let his hands go. While Williams
never went down and fired back occasionally, referee Tony Weeks chose to stop
the fight and rightfully so as Williams was just taking too much punishment. The
official time of the TKO victory was 47 seconds of round #7. In this fight Lacy showed that besides having good power in both hands, he
also possesses a great chin. He could not only dish out punishment but take it
as well. I believe he still has ways to go as far as technique is concerned but
the main intangibles that make a good champion are certainly there. The real
story of the fight, however, was not Jeff Lacy but Rubin Williams. This
virtually unknown fighter showed that he has good potential and solid boxing
skills that can perhaps one day make him a serious contender. Fighters’ rankings
never meant much to me especially by the so called boxing organizations that
seem to just pick the names randomly out of a hat. So was the case this time as
Williams proved that he is certainly better than his #15 ranking. While I was
somewhat impressed with Lacy’s power and chin, I was more impressed by Williams
who showed up to fight and put on a great performance.
3-6-20005
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