Athletes - Jeff Lacy

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	Athletes - Jeff Lacy

Jeffrey Scott Lacy (born May 12, 1977 in St. Petersburg, Florida) is a American boxer. Currently fighting in the super middleweight boxing division at 5'9" and 168lbs, his record stands at 21 wins (17 by knockout) and one loss. His punching power, most notably the left hook, and aggressive style have created much needed excitement in boxing and have even drawn comparisons to Mike Tyson and Marvin Hagler.

Amateur Career

Lacy as an amateur had 210 fights, winning the 1999 National PAL amateur champion at 165 pounds, the 1998 U.S. National amateur champion at 165 pounds, and the 1998 National PAL amateur champion at 165 pounds. Lacy fought at the 1996 Eastern Olympic Trials, stopping Kenneth Head in the first round. In the quarter-finals, Lacy defeated Rubin Williams. In the semi-finals, Lacy lost to Darnell Wilson and finished in third. In the 1997 National Golden Gloves, Lacy beat Rubin Williams, but lost against Randy Griffin in the semi-finals and finished in third place. In the quarter-finals of the 2000 Olympic Team trials, Lacy won a decision over Brad Austin. In the semi-finals, Lacy won a decision over Jerson Ravelo. During the finals, Lacy won a 26-10 decision over Randy Griffin of Philadelphia, Pa. During the 2000 Olympic Team Box-offs, Lacy lost to Arthur Palac. In his second fight, Lacy defeated him on the scorecards. He was a member of the 2000 United States Olympic boxing team along with current Undisputed Middleweight champion Jermain Taylor. During his first bout in Sydney, Australia, Lacy knocked out Cleiton Conceicao of Brazil at 0:58 of the third round. During his second bout, Lacy defeated Pawel Kakietek of Poland, en route to a 21-7 decision. During the third bout, Lacy was stopped at 1:49 of the third round by Gaidarbek Gaidarbekov of Russia.

Professional Career

Rise to Stardom

Lacy made his professional debut against Jerald Lowe on February 2, 2001, knocking him out in the first round. He won his next seven fights by way of knockout and won the WBC Continental Americas Super Middleweight Title against Anwar Oshana, by way of technical knockout in round two. On December 13, 2003 he won the USBA and NABA Super Middleweight Titles after stopping Donnell Wiggins in round eight. He won the IBF Super Middleweight Title on October 2, 2004 against southpaw Syd Vanderpool. He defended it against Omar Sheika and Rubin Williams. Lacy fought Robin Reid for the IBO version of the title in his hometown of St. Petersburg on August 6, 2005. His fight with Robin Reid went till the eighth round ending in a technical knockout after Lacy knocked him down four times. Before the fight, Reid had never been knocked down. Lacy fought Scott Pemberton on November 5, 2005. Lacy knocked Pemberton, a former contender, down twice in the second round and ended the fight when he blasted Pemberton with an overhand right to the side of the head.

Loss to Joe Calzaghe

In late 2005, after a hand injury caused Joe Calzaghe to pull out of a previously scheduled bout between the two, Lacy sought out Calzaghe again where he revealed that he was willing to fight in front of Calzaghe's own fans in Manchester, England. Lacy trained extremely hard and even had to slow down to ensure that he would not overtrain. Dan Birmingham said that Lacy was sparring with top middleweight southpaw Winky Wright. Coming into the fight, boxing experts said that Lacy would overwhelm Calzaghe with his constant pressure and hard punches. Even Lacy predicted that there would be no 12th round bell. Instead, Lacy suffered the first loss of his career on March 5, 2006 at the MEN Arena in Manchester, where he was comprehensively beaten over 12 rounds and knocked down, although it is unsure whether he tripped, in the 12th by Joe Calzaghe, losing on a unanimous points decision, (119-105; 119-107; 119-107). Lacy admitted after the fight that he came in expecting to knock out Calzaghe within three rounds and that he needs to work on his overall boxing skills. Had Lacy won the fight, he may have decided move up to Light Heavyweight and challenege Antonio Tarver or Roy Jones, Jr.. That option is now open to Joe Calzaghe.

Lacy's Legacy and Future

Lacy's current legacy seems to be one of a young champion, who was a throwback to the fighters of boxing's glory days, with a desire to become great. He tried to give the fans the fights they wanted to see instead of cheating the fans by taking easy fights against less skilled opponents. Lacy, however, seemed to be moved along too fast, which ultimately has seemed to cause him to fall short on his goal.

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