06.03.06 – By Justin Hackman: Usually it is the younger fighter, the prospect, which has yet to prove himself to fans, and can only do so upon challenging a fighter with an already established reputation. However this past Saturday, we as boxing fans were treated to a match-up in which the well known fighter was the younger challenger in Jeff Lacy, as he took his undefeated record to England to face the reigning Super Middleweight champion in Joe Calzaghe whom although without a loss as well, had yet to prove to the fans in the United States that this unblemished record was not fragile or untested..
The undefeated record speaks loudly, yet does not have the stronger, more convincing voice that a solid reputation in the boxing world possesses. For example, Thomas Daamgard. Although he was never thought of to be a fighter worthy of same sentence mention of Calzaghe, most recently we saw him take his previously perfect record into the ring only to be outclassed by a sturdy, yet very beatable Arturo Gatti proving his record was only as good as the level of his competition. That being said, the fact remained, how was Joe Calzaghe going to defeat Jeff Lacy?
The popular logic amongst fans was Lacy is too strong, too imposing, too dominant. While Calzaghe is champion, he certainly cannot punch harder than Lacy or inflict the serious threat in which the 2000 Olympian does. This was clearly the biggest test of both careers so far, as either fighter certainly had not faced anyone like their respective opponent. From the opening bell, Calzaghe was landing clean, fast shots to the chin, jaw, and head of Lacy. Lacy was attempting to retaliate with hard punches, yet all of which were consistently missing, as Calzaghe made each move with precision and calculation
so as to always keep his target areas just out of connection range for Lacy. Lacy was looking discouraged, as this opponent-illusiveness was foreign to him.
Lacy was obviously testing out the waters for the first few minutes of the fight in order to strategically yet savagely unleash his viciously attacking onslaught reminiscent of the legendary Mike Tyson. With about a minute left to go in the first round, Lacy dove forward with a malicious cause and appeared as though he had every intention of driving Calzaghe to the ropes in order to put him to sleep, very similar to how Lacy would end the vast majority of his previous fights which made him a superstar in the U.S. and earned him the title shot. Just as quickly as his expected assault began, it was terminated as Calzaghe connected with a left hook/uppercut on the jaw of Lacy, immediately putting a halt to any desired outcome Lacy had in mind.
The punch was not incredibly hard and certainly did not wobble Lacy, yet not one of Lacy’s opponents has ever so singularly and definitively stopped his attack in the way that Calzaghe did at that moment. Lacy found himself in there with a professional; at the time of the abrupt cease to Lacy’s attacking efforts which had made him one of the most feared boxers in the sport up to that point, the boxing public had been formally introduced to Joe Calzaghe.
While the first round appeared to be easy work for Calzaghe, viewers still understood that Lacy’s inner bulldog could be unleashed at any given moment. Round two was very similar to the tone of the first round with one exception: this was the point in which everyone knew in their hearts Lacy was in uncharted waters, including himself and Calzaghe. While Lacy’s urgency was rising, his confidence was plummeting. And as for Calzaghe’s confidence? In between rounds two and three Calzaghe boldly quipped about his opponent, “He’s sh**.” While Calzaghe meant no disrespect to his opponent, it was plain to see in the spirit of competition, Calzaghe was brimming with confidence against one of the sport’s previously invincible young stars.
The subsequent 10 rounds mirrored the beating of the first two, only with escalating assurance. Calzaghe after his display of stunning mastery which ended in a decision as unanimous as it gets, mentioned the coveted claim of being recognized as one of boxing’s best: a spot on the pound for pound list. I for one do not feel a single victory should always land a fighter on the chiseled list. However, in Joe Calzaghe’s case, this was not just one fight. This was a stylish confirmation (against by far the most dangerous contender in the division) that all his past defenses have not been accidents, therefore
earning him that right on the list which is seemingly long past due.
Congratulations to Calzaghe for accomplishing his goal of silencing any critics as he dominated the dominator with conviction. As for Jeff Lacy, losing can be very instrumental in developing an already solid fighter into a seasoned professional. He acknowledged this in his post-fight interview and ended his gracious testimony with, “I’ll be back.”