Definitely. He's got the goods. The hand speed. Ability to put together combinations. The relentless determination to go after guys. He supposedly has power as he's KOed like 17 of his 18 opponents. He's not polished yet but he's someone to look out for.
I initially thought that too when the fight started but as the fight wore on, he showed me more. He can throw straight punches when it's needed. He does have more hand speed and can put together combinations which is something Lacy almost never did. He's got the talent. He does need polishing however.
A beast in the ring. Needs to work on workrate and defense especially headmovement other than that he looks like he will have a bright future.
Hard to tell, last fight he was banging away at will against a guy who couldnt hurt him or even threaten him. He has yet to be in a 50-50 match-up; until then the jury's out
I don't agree with the Lacy comparisons. I think Cloud has more hand speed and he showed that he could move around and box. All Lacy could really do was disguise his punches and hit you with hard left hook. His defense also isn't bad. He reminds me more of James Toney although a bit more hittable.
He's got a good shot at being a top contender and even a champion but we'll have to see him in with a top fighter with good power.
I was impressed with him v Gonzalez. His first long fight and he stopped a tough man. He does throw Lacy style hayemakers and has that same physique. However, he also showed a solid jab, and he looked good when he punched in combination. On top of that, he showed some counter punching ability and decent head movement at times. He definitely needs seasoning, but I think fights like Gonzalez are going to put him in the right direction. There are some very strong men Cloud could fight on the way up: Johnson, Woods, Diaconu for instance. I think he is more suited to strong opponents that the slicker ones. And there's plenty of tricky guys that he will have to learn how to fight - before Dawson/Tarver, there's Drews, Barashian, Braehmer. Cloud definitely has the urgency to go after slick fighters; hopefully he will learn the adaptability.