So Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy loses once again, never has a one punch wonder fallen apart quite like Jeff. A fighter who promised much, he said he'd beat “Calslappy”, then found out that Joe Calzaghe slapped bloody hard, he promised to unify the Super Middleweight division, yet only ever held the IBF's trinket and now he must be thinking what happened to his career.
Lacy was a stocky, muscular powerful fight, who had been mowing through journeymen and has-beens. The likes of Robin Reid, Scott Pemberton, Rubin Williams, Syd Vanderpool and Omar Sheika were beaten once after the other in fact all 5 of the afore mentioned fighters were beaten in a 13 month streak of destruction with only Sheika lasting the distance. Lacy though wasn't actually a capable boxer, more a limited powerhouse, he, at the time, had the intimidation factor, freezing opponents at times, and over powering them at other times. It's worth noting Sheika was only 2 points (1 round) down on 2 cards) Vanderpool equally close prior to being stopped in the 8th.
Although it's often said that Calzaghe broke Lacy, there were cracks already well inside the Lacy machine, he was power hungry, feeling over-confident in his left hand and when Calzaghe thoroughly beat him questions arose. Lacy had had the myth exposed, he was nothing special, in fact he was made to look distinctly average by an amazing Calzaghe who put in one of the greatest performances seen by a British boxer in history.
Since losing to Calzaghe Lacy won just 4 of 7 fights, scoring no stoppages and most noteworthy, every decision was controversial and disputed. Vitali Tsypko was flat out robbed, Peter Manfredo Jr could honestly claim to have been stitched up whilst Epifanio Mendoza could conceivably of won and ditto Otis Griffin. Tsypko failed to score any notable victories in his 4 fights following, Manfredo, after getting stopped by Sakio Bika, has dropped down to Middleweight, Mendoza has become a journeyman and Griffin, who was knocked out in his next fight, is now on a run af beating journeymen.
Though it's not who Lacy did beat, but his losses, being completely out boxed for almost the entire fight by Jermain Taylor, being out landed and stopped by the shell of Roy Jones Jr and now, the most embarrassing loss of his career, he was out boxed and out pointed by journeyman Dhafir Smith. Within 5 years Lacy has gone from being the American fighter with the world at his fingertips, to being a fighter who could well have gone 0-8 in his last 8 fights. The power, confidence, swagger and intimidation has completely gone the guy who was 21-0 (17) and viewed as a KO machine has fallen to 25-4 (17).
Whether it was the confidence beaten out of him, or he wasn't that good to start off with, any number of other problems, the 33 year really needs to hang them up having failed to win the UBO title, there is nothing left in the sport for a fighter who has nothing to give. If Lacy wishes to be turned into a slurring wreck then he can feel free to remain in the ring, if he wants to keep his senses he needs to walk away now!
Lacy was a stocky, muscular powerful fight, who had been mowing through journeymen and has-beens. The likes of Robin Reid, Scott Pemberton, Rubin Williams, Syd Vanderpool and Omar Sheika were beaten once after the other in fact all 5 of the afore mentioned fighters were beaten in a 13 month streak of destruction with only Sheika lasting the distance. Lacy though wasn't actually a capable boxer, more a limited powerhouse, he, at the time, had the intimidation factor, freezing opponents at times, and over powering them at other times. It's worth noting Sheika was only 2 points (1 round) down on 2 cards) Vanderpool equally close prior to being stopped in the 8th.
Although it's often said that Calzaghe broke Lacy, there were cracks already well inside the Lacy machine, he was power hungry, feeling over-confident in his left hand and when Calzaghe thoroughly beat him questions arose. Lacy had had the myth exposed, he was nothing special, in fact he was made to look distinctly average by an amazing Calzaghe who put in one of the greatest performances seen by a British boxer in history.
Since losing to Calzaghe Lacy won just 4 of 7 fights, scoring no stoppages and most noteworthy, every decision was controversial and disputed. Vitali Tsypko was flat out robbed, Peter Manfredo Jr could honestly claim to have been stitched up whilst Epifanio Mendoza could conceivably of won and ditto Otis Griffin. Tsypko failed to score any notable victories in his 4 fights following, Manfredo, after getting stopped by Sakio Bika, has dropped down to Middleweight, Mendoza has become a journeyman and Griffin, who was knocked out in his next fight, is now on a run af beating journeymen.
Though it's not who Lacy did beat, but his losses, being completely out boxed for almost the entire fight by Jermain Taylor, being out landed and stopped by the shell of Roy Jones Jr and now, the most embarrassing loss of his career, he was out boxed and out pointed by journeyman Dhafir Smith. Within 5 years Lacy has gone from being the American fighter with the world at his fingertips, to being a fighter who could well have gone 0-8 in his last 8 fights. The power, confidence, swagger and intimidation has completely gone the guy who was 21-0 (17) and viewed as a KO machine has fallen to 25-4 (17).
Whether it was the confidence beaten out of him, or he wasn't that good to start off with, any number of other problems, the 33 year really needs to hang them up having failed to win the UBO title, there is nothing left in the sport for a fighter who has nothing to give. If Lacy wishes to be turned into a slurring wreck then he can feel free to remain in the ring, if he wants to keep his senses he needs to walk away now!
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