With a mouth-watering unification match with WBO king Joe Calzaghe already agreed for October or November in the UK, IBF super-middleweight champion Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy must first blast past experienced campaigner Robin Reid at the St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa in his native Florida on 6 August.
But as good as the 28-year-old, 19-0 (15 KOs), Lacy has looked thus far in his career, is he really good enough to knock out the Runcorn, England, -born “Reaperman”? Is he really good enough to treat the former WBC champ as a mere tune-up for Calzaghe? Because, after speaking with team Lacy, one is left with the distinct impression that’s the plan.
“Hopefully on August 6 Jeff Lacy knocks out Robin Reid and sends a message to Calzaghe and everyone else,” Lacy’s promoter Gary Shaw said. “In boxing or in life, there is no substitute for experience and since Jeff won the title I’ve been working hard to get him that experience. Now it is time for him to step it up and we will find out just how good he can be. Reid should really be a two-time world champion because he clearly beat [Sven] Ottke in Germany in 2003 and this is easily Jeff‘s hardest fight yet. This is the final examination before Jeff is ready to unify the title against Calzaghe.”
But Shaw seemed surprised when I told him a lot of people thought Reid had actually beat the Welsh southpaw when he got dropped a split decision to Calzaghe in February 1999.
“Actually, up until now I’ve only seen Robin’s fight with Ottke,” Shaw admitted before assuring me that Lacy is now concentrating fully on Reid.
Reid, the Brian Hughes-trained 1992 Olympic bronze medallist, has blown hot and cold throughout his 12-year career, but feels the opposition have their eye off the ball.
“When Lacy was over here to watch Hatton [vs Tszyu] in June they held a press conference about Calzaghe,” an incredulous Reid said when I visited Hughes’s Manchester gym in mid-July. “It is disrespectful, you can say that, but it is also good for me because he’s thinking about Calzaghe. I’ve read where he says he’s going to knock me out and that’s good, too. If Lacy is expecting to knock me out, he’s just putting more pressure on himself and fighting in his own backyard and with the unification fight already [agreed to] there’s loads of pressure on him already.”
An animated, heart-on-his-sleeve type, Reid leapt into theatrical re-enactments of Lacy’s most recent bout — TKO7 Rubin Williams — when asked if he’d researched his fellow Olympian on tape.
“I’ve watched him,” he confirmed. “But he’s not what he’s made out to be. He’s not this devastating puncher, he punches hard but he’s not all this and that. Lacy backed Williams into the ropes and, I’m not being funny, Williams just sat their with his arse on the ropes and let Lacy spread his legs and club away like Captain Caveman. Anyone can get power into their shots if they do that. If any big bloke walked into this gym right now he could go over to those [heavy] bags and made a big noise hitting them. So what?
“And that name ‘Left Hook’ isn’t right either because I think his best punch is his right hand. Loads of times he throws his right as a lead to set up his left hook and I hope he does that with me because I’m a counter puncher and I’ll crack him every time he tries that.
“I’ve not seen anyone set Lacy up for a counter yet. I’ve not seen him backed up yet and I plan to do both. Everyone knows I’m a good counter puncher but I know that I’ll have to stand in front of him at some point, too, and I’m really looking forward to that because this is my time now.”
Confident words, but Reid has disappointed before. Now aged 34, the 38-4 (27 KOs) fighter really should have become a bigger star after he travelled to Italy to rip the WBC title from fruitcake Vincenzo Nardiello in October 1996. Good wins over unbeaten puncher Giovanni Pretorius, two-time world title challenger Henry Wharton and then a close but exciting 12 rounds with Hacine Cherifi [who’d win the WBC middleweight title immediately afterwards] were undone by a truly dismal performance against Thulane “Sugar Boy” Malinga in December 1997.
“I didn’t make excuses at the time but, eight years on, I don’t think it matters if I tell you I had a serious chest infection and couldn’t breath that night,” the reigning IBO title-holder said. “It was a terrible fight, I know, but I think I’ve had too much criticism in my career. I’ve had some fights like the Malinga one and the Silvio Branco [L12 June 2000] where it hasn’t been exciting to watch, but I think I’ve been in some really exciting fights, too. People are asking me if I’m worried about going to Lacy’s backyard but I get more stick in my backyard!”
One can feel sympathy. Things haven’t gone his way much (the Calzaghe verdict, the Ottke “conspiracy” etc) but the likeable Scouser just hasn’t been consistent. He has always struggled to look good against opponent’s who don’t come on to him and it sometimes seems to be a real job for him to “get up” for fights mentally.
“I’m up for this fight,” he assured me. “I promise you this will be different. Not many fighters can go to Italy to win a world title, but I did. The Italians had people coming in an out of my room all night but I didn’t let it bother me. With Calzaghe I thought I won that fight.
“And people say I should have knocked Ottke for the WBA/IBF belts [December 2003] out but when I did knock him down the referee [the disgraceful and inept Belgian Roger Tilleman] warned me for hitting him. I won the first six rounds of that fight but the referee was taking points off me for nothing and even bollocking me for hitting Ottke!
“In my mind I was at least six points up but I honestly thought I would get disqualified if I did anything. I’ve boxed a long time but I didn’t know what to do in a situation where it was obvious the referee was just waiting to throw me out.
“So I stopped throwing shots and Ottke won the last four rounds, but I’d scored a knockdown — well, I was supposed to have — and won seven of the first eight rounds. People have come up to me and said how could I take the decision and laugh [in the post fight interview] but when they rob you so badly in a fight you so obviously won then it becomes so ridiculous that you can’t think of it seriously.
“Even though I know I’ll get no favours in America, at least the referee will allow me to punch the other guy back. It‘ll be me talking about a unification bout.”
Sports Network’s respected matchmaker Dean Powell has described Lacy as an American version of Henry Wharton and he and several other insiders believe Reid is a great bet at 5-1 against.
But Lacy himself sounds ultra-confident. Speaking on the phone, he said: “I know Reid is coming to take what I got but I’m not going to let that happen. I’ve heard he’s got a great chin but when I won the [vacant] title [October last year] I wasn’t supposed to knock Syd Vanderpool out, either. And Rubin Williams has a heck of a chin on him, he was very strong and determined, but eventually I got him out of there. I can take it if Reid wants to counter me. Y’know if I hit him and he counters me but I hit him again, then I’m still hitting him twice as much as he’s hitting me.”
Sounds like Lacy is really out to impress.
“That’s the plan, yes,” the 2000 Olympian said. “I just can’t wait for this fight. I’m really getting stronger. This is my first fight home since the amateurs and if Reid’s a puncher then everyone over here will really have a great night because I’m ready to cook. These last weeks are moving so slow, I just want to fight.”
The son 1968 U.S. Olympic trialist Hydra added: “I’m not fighting Calzaghe next, I’m fighting Reid and I’m very aware of that. I’m focused and I have a good head on my shoulders. I love to fight, I love being inside that squared circle and I’m going to do what it takes to win. If it’s a name guy, if it’s not a name guy, Jeff Lacy is still going to show up prepared and do what he loves to do.”
The fight, to be broadcast live by Showtime in the US and Sky Sports in the UK, should be a good one as the styles could gel perfectly. But Lacy starts favourite, he’s the one in ascendance, while you have to go back to the 1990s for a truly impressive Reid performance against a Top 10 super middle.
Harsher critics argue that Reid, despite his talents, finds ways to lose and always carries a three-pack of ready-made excuses in his pocket. It seems like an eternity ago when a fresh-faced 21-year-old slugged his way to Britain’s sole medal in the Barcelona Olympics, but Reid doesn’t have to turn the clock back that far to give a good account of himself.
And give as good as he gets is what I’m looking for him to do.
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