UBO Boxing: Jeff Lacy Headlining St. Petersburg Fight Card

On December 11 at the Jannus Live in hometown St. Petersburg, Florida, former IBF and IBO Super Middleweight champion Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy will return to the ring for the first time since his loss to all-time great Roy Jones Jr. last year.

Lacy, 25-3, 17 KOs, will take on an opponent to be confirmed for the vacant UBO International Super Middleweight title, on a co-promotion between Fight Night Promotions and Left Hook Promotions. Following the Jones fight Lacy went through therapy to fix his left shoulder, and he is now again able to perform at world class level.

The Jannus Live, formerly known as Jannus Landings, is a famous outdoor concert venue which will be transformed into a boxing arena to accommodate St. Petersburg’s local boxing hero when he makes his homecoming on December 11. This will be the first time as a professional that Lacy fights in St. Petersburg, and the twelve-round bout will be televised by Bright House Networks cable TV. .

A 2000 US Olympian with an amateur record of 209-12, Jeff Lacy turned professional the following year with a first round knockout over Jerald Lowe in Columbus, Ohio. While that fight was covered by ESPN, Lacy would quickly turn into a steady Showtime TV attraction due to his massive punching power and entertaining fighting style.

After eleven straight victories, ten by way of knockout, Lacy won his first professional title in 2002 when he beat former world title challenger Ross Thompson on points for the WBC Continental Americas championship. He soon added USBA and NABA belts to his collection, before winning the IBF title in 2004 with an eight-round stoppage over Canadian Syd Vanderpool.

Lacy racked up two defenses of his IBF title, beating Omar Sheika and Rubin Williams, before clashing with IBO champion Robin Reid in a unification bout. Scoring four knockdowns along the way, Lacy dominated Reid thoroughly and made the Englishman’s corner retire their fighter after the seventh round.

However, in his biggest fight to date, Lacy was convincingly beaten in another unification fight when future Hall of Famer, and perhaps the best super middleweight of all time, WBO champion Joe Calzaghe won a unanimous decision in 2006 at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, England. Lacy came back with three victories over Vitaly Tsypko, Peter Manfredo and Epifanio Mendoza before losing a decision to Olympic teammate, and former WBC/WBO champion, Jermain Taylor in late 2008.

Following the Taylor fight, Lacy moved up to Light Heavyweight to beat Otis Griffin at the Sun Dome in Tampa in April of 2009. That victory paved the way for the Roy Jones fight, but after losing to the former Middleweight, Super Middleweight, Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight champion, Lacy has now decided to move down to 168 Lbs. again to chase another World title.

The quest begins on December 11 with a fight for the UBO International title, and whoever is eventually confirmed to be in the opposite corner on the night will be in for a rough ride as a determined “Left Hook” sets his sight at the top of the Super Middleweight division again.