Hehe. I don't think his defense will ever improve, though I wish it would too. At this stage, he is what he is. Any word on his trainer? Last I heard, wasn't he on the outs with Birmingham? Maybe I was dreaming.
Didn't read nor hear anything about it, as a matter of fact I have been searching for Lacy news/interviews for quite some time but to no avail. To be honest, I seriously doubt that changing trainers will change everything. About his defense, I agree with you there, which is the reason why I have a feeling he'll face the similar beating like he did against Calzaghe against the next decent fighter he runs into, hope I'm totally wrong but I can feel it.
I would love that. I don't know if it will happen though, Manfredo has a very good chin also. I'm not a Manfredo hater, I admire the fact he's a blue-collar fighter. I'm just a big Lacy fan, and a win over Manfredo is a stepping stone to a future title shot. Though, like Scar says, I have a feeling that Lacy will lose once he fights an elite in the division. Hope he never gets a beating like Calzaghe gave him though, that was a very sad fight to watch, depending on which side of the pond you were on. Joe put on a clinic.
Actually I do have to admit that I'd rather watch this fight than the one it replaced, and if Lacy does come in with an improved defence I would probably think higher of him as a fighter.
Lacy is a fighter who's best attributes are heart, and power. (his power might be slightly overrated) If you are looking for his defense to amazingly improve, in order for you to think higher of him, you are looking at the wrong fighter. Sometimes you just have to appreciate fighters for what they are.
I have nothing against Manfredo, who is a solid blue collar fighter, but I'd love to see an impressive Lacy win. Jeff had some bad luck with the shoulder injury and I'm hoping he's fully recovered from that. Lacy by TKO/KO would be good to see.
No need for "amazing" improvement, I'm talking about ANY improvement as far as defense goes. I have thought this was desperately needed ever since the Omar Shieka fight. If Omar can connect on you that frequently, you are in SERIOUS trouble against any true world class fighter.
I agree about the Shieka fight. My jaw dropped when Omar buzzed him with that temple shot. I hope to see an improvement to Jeff's defense also, but won't be holding my breath.
good fight for viewers. good fight for lacy to test the waters again to see what he has. but BAD fight for image in my opinion. calzaghe made lacy look like a bum in the ring. that defeat was worse than getting ko'ed early in the fight. he was totally owned in every concievable way. by fighting manfredo it doesn't do lacy any favours PR wise. 1. he's fighting his Daddy's leftovers. 2. what happens if manfredo makes it competitive? or it goes the distance? i believe lacy will win soundly, but how will it look if he gives lacy some trouble or makes him work for the win? 3. this fight will say nothing new about lacy. at least lacy fought tysko in his comeback fight since they had unsettled business. and even though i feel lacy lost that fight, the torn rotor cuff clearly played a role in that dubious decision so i dont hold it against him. so if lacy fights someone like manfredo and blast him outta there just as quick as calzaghe did so what? does that indicate he has fully recovered physically and mentally? to be fair i see that manfredo is a good opponent as far as recognition goes etc. plus is a safer fight and such. i mean, kessler will be his ultimate nemesis. because win or lose calzaghe will be leaving the super middles and kessler will be the king even if he lost to calzaghe. so to be the man at 168 he'll have to beat kessler who i feel is just as good as calzaghe if not better at this stage of their respective careers. he'll need to ramp up his competition, and fighting manfredo etc will NOT sharpen him up. but then again i consider lacy a solid top 10 fighter now irregardless of who he fights, but as long as kessler remains in this division lacy will always be contender.
I think Manfredo has enough skills to give Lacy some trouble and this should be a good fight. This is Lacy's chance to come back better than ever.