2004 Jeff Lacy was as good as it gets ...

Whats that suppose to mean?

Its alright saying that, if a boxer dominates a sub-par fighter "look at the fighter not his opposition", but when he is barely beating a low level fighter, that doesn't work out.

 

Lacy couldn't box at the top level, which is evident if you've seen his fights. If he could, he would have shown us at least once in his career. When did he give you the idea that he could out-box a world class opponent anyway, I can't think of any examples. The fact that he couldn't box against world class opponents is the reason he chose to adapt his style to pressuring, which he felt suited him (allthough it was flawed). This is a pretty stupid statement given there is no evidence to back it up.

It wouldn't have mattered what he did agaisnt Calzaghe, he lacked what it takes to beat him. If Lacy chose to box he would have gotten dominated, it is obviously not his forte and he would have been badly outclassed by the superior man. Very few people can compete with Calzaghe from long-range, let alone a brawler with limited handspeed who has shown no signs of being able to box. He he decided to fight inside and pressure he would have gotten dominated, that's basically what happened in the fight and look how things turned out. Calzaghe proved himself far superior on the inside (Where most of the fight was fought).

If he elected to look for that one big punch it would have never came. Calzaghe proved he could take Lacy's best shot without hesitation, he would have been out-worked and schooled waiting for something that was never going to come. There are other scenarios, however all of them point to Calzaghe being the clear cut victor. I don't know how anyone could say any different after viewing their fight. Jeff Lacy was simply beaten by a fighter who's style was all wrong for him.

I can't belive you said you think a 2004 Lacy is as good as it gets, have you ever seen fighters like Roy Jones, Ricardo Lopez or Ray Leonard (and many others)? A fighter who is 'as good as it gets' doesn't struggle against average contenders like Omar Sheika and Syd Vanderpool. I dont know how you could come to such a conclusion, he was obviously flawed.

Lacy was just a flawed but good fighter who was overrated by the American media, It's not his fault. Calzaghe gave him a beating (exposing his flaws) and now he has a shoulder injury, It's doubtfull he'll ever get back to the top.

 

Who did he beat period is a more pertinent question. Venderpool and a past best Sheika and Reid? When those two guys were prime they are often considered by the ignorant to be amongst the "bums" that Calzaghe beat. Truth is they were far from bums of course but its hard to really judge what Sheika and Reid had left. I would consider them good wins, especially in the manner he won, but not earth shattering. Prime Reid gave clazaghe (admittedly with a broken hand for half the fight) a very rough night, whereas the gulf between Joe and Jeff looked to be huge. Was it a case of Reid fading or a style question? We'll never know for sure but probably a bit of both.

Other than those guys the other names on his resume dont look too hot. Pemberton was okay and Williams had a decent record but no great wins.

The fact is much of the SMW talent was across the pond in Europe. I know its a difficult concept for some American fighters that they may not be the best around but at SMW it was the case. Had he fought a bit more in Europe he might have been challenged more and shapened up his game before meeting Calzaghe and might have stood a chance.

 

Don't change the subject. You weren't talking about pre-calzaghe, you were declaring a bet that he will regain a title, talking about the present.

 

True, the level of competition in Europe was just so much higher than it was a chok when he faced that level. Instead of that old American he met in his second last fight before Calzaghe he should have had a go at Tsypko, Veit or someone like that. Then he could better have figured out where he really was in the larger scheme of things.

When fighters continually box within their own closed circle they can look really good and spectacular, but that may very well be an illusion.

 

Joe Calzaghe was what went wrong. As a huge fan of Lacy I admit Lacy wanted that fight not than his team, he just kept calling for it over and over till it was done. Calzaghe just proved to be too much and it's all about style, even if this happened years later the outcome won't change because Lacy's fight style wouldn't have changed either.

 

Don't think so, Lacy wanted that fight badly and his team gave him what he wanted. If they didn't give him what he wanted then they would be bashed on for "protecting" him, that was the best fight to make at the weight and they made it, expected.

 

:deal

 

the problem is he didnt fight like how pavlik would have

as if death was a possibility....

 

He never elected to do anything vs Calzaghe - Calzaghe took control of the fight from the opening bell and absolutely spanked Lacy - Lacy had no say in the matter whatsoever.

 

Where is Lacy?

 

Lacy was an overrated, over-hyped piece of ****.. Im glad he got his ass whupped

 

calzaghe ruined him. no question