Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" Lacy (born May 12, 1977) Despite competing
in the 2000 Olympics for the United states, winning a world supermiddleweight
title that he successfully defended four times, and largely captivating
the boxing world with his power and exciting style during his reign.
While
his wins against Syd Vanderpool, Rubin Williams, and Omar sheika were
impressive, Lacy's beat down of Robin Reid (38-4) was astonishing,
Reid, who had given Joe Calzaghe and Sven Ottke all they could handle,
was a very live underdog. However, "Left Hook" knocked down "Ther
Reaper Man" (as Reid was called) for the first time in his career
in the fifth round. He did it again later in the round. Robin was
dropped again in rounds six and seven. Ther Reaper lost a point for
a headbutt in round five and another point in the seventh round for
holding. The referee finally stopped what had now become a slaughter
on advice of Reid's corner after round seven.
Lacy, who sported
an eye-popping 209-12 amateur record, had seemingly reached the pinnacle
of his pro career. After the Reid win, Jeff went to 20-0 as he dispatched
Scott Pemberton intwo rounds setting up the super-hyped fight with
Joe Calzaghe (40-0) in Manchester, UK with the IBF and WBO super middleweight
titles at risk.
Calzaghe vs Lacy (2006)
"It was the only time
in my career I was the underdog and everyong had written me off. If
anything it motivated me even more to prove I was the best"- Joe Calzaghe
Joe
was right. Everyone had written him off. At BoxingScene.com, 27 staffers
gave their opinions and 19 picked Lacy, most by knockout. They were
not alone. Doghouse Boxing was 11-2 for Lacy and the Sweet Science
staff was 12-2. The American sports books had Lacy as the favorite.
Even the British sports books had Lacy as the favorite.
The fight
in 2006 has been fully vetted and needs minimal analysis here. Suffice
it to say that Joe put on a clinic on and dismantled and bloodied
"Left Hook." Quite simply, Joe fought a masterpiece and took away
Lacy's will. The one'sided scores read 119-105, 119-107 and 119-107.
As Calzaghe later said during his induction into the IBHOF, I'm always
grateful to Jeff Lacy for giving me the chance to prove I belonged
in the Hall of Fame"
Post-Calzaghe
Lacy took off a year after
which he ran off three straight wins against solid opposition including
a rematch with Vitali Tsypko (19-1) on December 2, 2006. The first
fight in 2004 ended in a NC due to a head-butt and resultant cut.
Lacy won this one but just barely by scores of 96-94, 96-94, 95-95.
After the bout, it was revealed that Lacy had torn his rotator cuff
and was injured throughout most of the fight. Lacy had surgery on
the injury and did not fight for a year.
Nervertheless, Lacy
bore little resemblance to the one that mugged Robin Reid. In 2008,
he lost a UD to Jermain Taylor (27-2-1) in a WBO Super Middleweight
Title Eliminator. The scorecards read 118-110, 119-109, and 119-109.
The writing was now on the wall, for Jeff's vaunted power seemed to
have vanished.
After a MD win over limited Otis Griffin in 2009,
Jeff suffered a humiliating TKO loss to Roy Jones Jr., via a RTD after
10 rounds. Roy chatted up and joked with the crowd as he had his way
with the former Olympian. It was almost surreal to watch this unfold,
but then boxing is something that often offers surreal experiences.
