02.03.06 – By Troy Ondrizek, photo by Tom Casino / Showtime: We are just but two days away from kicking off the most exciting boxing month in a long time. The first title fight is between Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy and the “Pride of Wales” Joe Calzaghe; for the IBF and WBO super-middleweight title of the world. Now, this is one of the most anticipated fights at this weight class in as long as I care to remember. Joe Calzaghe had us in suspense leading up to this fight, regarding whether or not a sudden mysterious injury would derail his plans to actually fight another great fighter. Now I’m not calling Calzaghe a dodger; but there are some who would go as far to say that Calzaghe dodged opponents outside the ring just as well as he evaded blows from his hand-picked opponents inside the ring. Joe is making his unfathomable 18th title defense of his WBO crown. That is impressive; especially the fact that Calzaghe has beaten a who’s who of who cares in the super-middleweight division. Calzaghe has always had the tools to be the best in his weight class. Joe has great hand-speed, more than adequate power, and solid defense..
However, he is more protected then Sven Ottke was, and travels nowhere to face opponents much like Roy Jones Jr. did or didn’t do. Now it sounds like a lot of hate spewing from my mind, but I am just frustrated that Joe hasn’t capitalized and unified a respectable division. He has held his title for almost nine years, and is a very skilled and intelligent fighter. He just never saw fit to go farther than he has. This is Joe’s chance to cast away any shadows looming over his legacy, and add a great name to his resume.
On the other side of the coin is Jeff Lacy. Now I’m not saying that Lacy has defeated hall of fame caliber fighters; in fact with this being his fifth defense of his more respectable IBF crown, he has defeated some of the same opponents as Calzaghe. The thing is, Lacy, has fought five fights since he won his title 17 months ago, and Calzaghe in the same time frame has defended twice. That isn’t all that significant except, Jeff is a 28 year-old up and comer who is trying to fight the best in his division and make a name for him as a legend. In fact Lacy is willing to travel to England to fight Calzaghe. This is a feat that most young fighters will try to avoid. While Joe is a 33 year old fighter, who while being the best in his division over the past decade; has yet to achieve a true lasting legacy of his own.
Both men are obviously eager to win this fight. However, each has slightly different reasons for accomplishing the same goal. Lacy is looking to take a major step in becoming a pound for pound threat, and trying to unify the division. On the other hand, Joe will try to knock off a talented, hard-punching champion and add another title to his waist, and possibly end all doubt of his reign.
For if Lacy wins, than a future fight with another European challenger will be lingering on the horizon. Mikkel Kessler is fighter patterned similar to Lacy. That fight should lead to fireworks. Or a fight with WBC titlist Markus Beyer would help bring validity to Lacy’s claim of greatness. On the other hand, I don’t see Joe going after either of the other Champions. I feel that in his mind; if he wins, then he will have legitimized his claim to being the best at 168lbs. I say this because of lack of effort on his part to make a fight of this magnitude until this point in his career. Then again, I could be wrong; I never did think he would go through with this fight in the first place. However, if Jeff wins, then a quest for unification and bigger things to come will assuredly be down the road for the ambitious Lacy.
This fight will prove to us the legacy of both fighters. A win for Calzaghe would go a long ways in telling us about his greatness, and a loss will tell us that he just wasn’t quite the best, but a very good champion nonetheless. A win for Jeff Lacy will catapult his career, and possibly give us a great star at the present, and could prove that he is ready to become a legend. However, a loss would tell us that he could be overrated and isn’t quite the man we are searching for. Whatever the outcome, a fight like this is long overdue for this division, and is long overdue for us fight fans.