I felt going in that Calzaghe had a chance, but I'm not going to lie to you
and say I thought Calzaghe would win. I thought Lacy's power
would probably overwhelm Calzaghe, and that Lacy had looked
unstoppable in a recent stretch. I have always felt the only
way to beat Lacy would be to effectively box him, but I just
didn't feel Calzaghe could do this for twelve rounds. He not
only did it for twelve rounds, but he did it with relative
ease.
There are a lot of questions to be asked of young Mr. Lacy and
also questions as to whether Joe still has the desire and
commitment after having campaigned as a world champion for over
seven years, currently the longest active reign in boxing. But
knowing Joe the way I do, this is the sort of fight that he needs.
It's the opportunity that he has been looking for that allows him
to prove his contention to the world that he is the number one
fighter in his division and that there is no one out there that can
live in the ring with him.
I can’t begin to explain the
clinic Joe Calzaghe put on Saturday night other than to tell you this, not
once in the match it looked like Jeff Lacy had won even 10
seconds of the fight. Before the 12th round Lacy’s
corner told him he needed a Knock Out to win the fight; when Lacy came out he
got tattooed, it was Joe Calzaghe that almost knocked Lacy out, in fact he put
Lacy down for the first time in his career. The scores at the end of the fight
were 119-107 twice, and 119-105.
Boxing is a sport that is full of surprises and
there were no shortages last night as Joe Calzaghe tamed and
punished previously undefeated American Jeff Lacy over twelve one
sided rounds in Manchester, England. It was a win that defines
Calzaghe as a fighter and shows that he was a champion for a
reason. Many people were either unsold on him coming into
tonight’s fight or unaware of his true talents, but Calzaghe made
his mark and we should expect to see much more of him.
CALZAGHE SCHOOLS LACY... AND A FEW MILLION MORE... by
Aladdin Freeman
I can’t begin to explain the clinic Joe Calzaghe put on Saturday night other
than to tell you this, not once in the match it looked like Jeff Lacy had won even 10
seconds of the fight. Before the 12th round Lacy’s
corner told him he needed a Knock Out to win the fight; when Lacy came out he
got tattooed, it was Joe Calzaghe that almost knocked Lacy out, in fact he put
Lacy down for the first time in his career. The scores at the end of the fight
were 119-107 twice, and 119-105.
Joe Calzaghe
~ my first look was well worth waiting for - bonus is, it wasn’t a glimpse but
rather 36 minutes of a fighting machine that opened the show taking it
directly to the slight-favorite who wager on such things as fistfights. That
action quickly labeled the Brit-Welshman with stamp reading confidence. Not
missed by these eyes was the wily, if unorthodox at times, never once sitting
on a lead that ensured victory - down to the finale "Joltin’
Joe" was looking for the knockout. Eluded only by the toughness of
his younger opponent.
From the opening bell
Calzaghe dominated every stage of the fight. He did everything he
was supposed to do including some things his opponent should have
done. Calzaghe was the aggressor, always getting off first and
keeping Lacy on the defensive. Lacy, whose defense leaves a lot to
be desired, took a tremendous amount of punishment in every round,
but to his credit he kept coming.
To date, Lacy has been the beneficiary of safe match making. In
his real ‘coming out’ party as a top rated fighter, Lacy was
systematically taken apart, round after round by Joe Calzaghe, who
had the faster hands and the overall superior boxing skills.
Though Lacy didn’t win a single round, (or even have a competitive
round) he showed big heart and a hell of a chin. The reality is,
none of the opponents on Lacy’s resume ever prepared him for the
likes of Joe Calzaghe, who may be under appreciated in some parts
but has very adaptable boxing prowess that was on display to all
boxing fans Saturday night.
SHOWTIME SATURDAY SPECIAL SHAPES UP AS
REAL DEAL... by George Elsasser
This Saturday Showtime special has portside power punching Joe Calzaghe
and Jeff "Left Hook" Lacy in a IBF/WBO unifier - and unlike recent
rehashed "names"- this one needs zero window dressing or the usual hype.
Both are unbeaten super-middleweights - both bring the kind of clout
that will pack the joint on merit alone - Calzaghe still a young body at
age 33, with 31 of his 40 wins coming by knockout - and Lacy, at prime
time age 28, has made 21 trips to the well, and taken 17 scalps.
CALZAGHE
PLANS ON SPOILING LACY'S ENGLISH VACATION
Seven years after winning the WBO Super Middleweight title, Joe Calzaghe
finally gets the opportunity to add another major world title belt to his
collection with the advent of IBF Champion Jeff Lacy's sojourn to the M.E.N.
Arena in Manchester to face "The Pride Of Wales" next Saturday, March 4th. The
Lacy fight will mark an amazing 18th occasion that Calzaghe has placed his WBO
crown at risk and the Welshman's resume is littered with such names as Charles
Brewer, Byron Mitchell, Chris Eubank and Robin Reid.
"I know how the Welsh feel
about my people in England and I will defend their honor and my crown
against Joe Calzaghe," continued Lacy. "I was outraged when Joe
first won his title and told the viewing audience he was rooting
against England when they were playing Italy in a critical World Cup
Qualifying match. That's my team! And for that he will pay....he
will be eating a lot of English leather Saturday night."
CALZAGHE STARTS COUNTDOWN TO END LACY'S
REIGN...
Today in Manchester, England WBO Super
Middleweight Champion Joe Calzaghe began the symbolic countdown that
will culminate in the downfall of IBF Champion Jeff Lacy.
The Welshman confidently predicted that the American's brief title reign,
lengthened by the consumption of such recycled Calzaghe victims such as Omar
Sheika and Robin Reid, will come to an end shortly after 2AM early Sunday
morning at the cavernous M.E.N Arena.
JEFF LACY - JOE CALZAGHE: NO BACKPEDALING HERE...
by Tom Dickey
Jeff Lacy and Joe
Calzaghe got together with their managers on Tuesday for a
conference call to promote their March 4th Super middleweight title
showdown. The bout is one of the more anticipated super
middleweight bouts in years, and can be seen on Showtime on the
4th. The event will take place in Manchester, England; it will be
broadcasted live at 9pm on the east coast. This means that the
Lacy-Calzaghe bout will be scheduled for 2am local time. The
fighters didn't have a whole lot to say, and actually it was the
managers (Gary Shaw and Frank Warren) who did a lot of the talking.
3-4-2006
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