Exclusive Interview: Robin “The Grim Reaper†Reid.
“I look at this fight as maybe being a little too much too soon for him. I’m sure the best man will win on Saturday, and no disrespect intended, I just think that’s going to be me.‖Robin Reid plans to shock Lacy and take the IBF title.
 after yesterday’s weigh-in Click for larger image © Tom Casino/Showtime |
This weekend, the hopes of British boxing fans ride on the broad shoulders of IBO super middleweight titlist Robin Reid as the “Grim Reaper” challenges IBF champion Jeff Lacy in the American fighter’s hometown of Tampa, Florida. While Reid has the full backing of enthusiasts in the UK, the Liverpool area man is being given nary a chance by those in the US and is being judged as a stepping-stone for Lacy to move |
onto the much talked about unification bout with longtime WBO champion Joe Calzaghe at years end. Reid is a proud fighter and is not accepting this reduction to a mere formality, but rather is determined to show that his skill, experience and variety will be too much for Lacy’s systematic aggression.
Once again, SaddoBoxing delivers the definitive fight week interview. Curtis McCormick talks at length with Robin Reid, trainer Brian Hughes and Reid’s sparring partner Matthew Hall as Reid prepares to take the world by storm tonight!
The extensive amateur career of IBF kingpin Jeff Lacy, 19-0 (15) with one no contest, which included winning the Olympic Silver Medal at Sydney in 2000, played a large part in enabling him to secure a world title in just his fifteenth professional bout. But the man who will be looking to spoil Lacy’s Tampa homecoming on Saturday is quick to point out that he too was well acquainted with success in the unpaid ranks in addition to having had over twice as many professional fights as the younger man. “I’ve got bags of experience and I’ve also been in with big punchers before,” related a confident Robin Reid. “I won a Bronze Medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and had fifty – odd Internationals for England. I know that was a long time ago but it all counts in my eyes. It all counts because I’ve handled all the different styles, handled all the pressure that comes with the really big occasions that I’ve been through as an amateur and as a pro. This Saturday night for example will be one of those big occasions and I’ve been in these big fights many times before. I’ve got the utmost respect for Jeff Lacy; he’s strong, he can punch, he’s only twenty-seven and has the whole world at his feet at the moment. I just happen to think that I can bully him out of all that because I’m here in America to win this fight.”
The thirty-four-year-old Reid, 38-4-1 (27), won the WBC super middleweight title in 1996 and defended it three times before losing the belt to Thulane “Sugar Boy” Malinga a little over a year later. The Englishman then hit a rough patch that saw him lose a highly controversial split decision to WBO titlist Joe Calzaghe in 1999 before dropping unanimous decision to future WBA light heavyweight boss Silvio Branco sixteen months later. For the next three years, Reid went on a tear, picking up ten victories over journeymen of varying levels en route to securing the lightly regarded WBF bauble. In December 2003, he finally got another crack at genuine world honors and traveled to Germany to challenge WBA and IBF belt holder Sven Ottke. To many it seemed Reid did more than enough to lift the titles but the veteran went back to England furious and empty handed. Despite the disappointment, six months later Reid was back in action and took the IBO mantle from Brian Magee after knocking the Irishman down four times.
The win over Magee was respectable enough but now Reid is up against a much more difficult challenge, a fact not lost on the Briton’s trainer, legendary Manchester fight fixture Brian Hughes. “There’s no disputing that Robin is up against a very, very good fighter,” said Hughes. “There’s no doubt in my mind about that and Robin knows it too. I’ve never seen him so intense as he is for this fight, so geared up to do well. Lacy looks to me almost like a young Mike Tyson: very, very powerful. He doesn’t throw jabs however, just goes in looking for big right hands and left hooks, so Robin has been working on techniques to offset that and counter effectively.”
One person who knows firsthand some of the strategies Reid has been preparing is Matthew Hall, an unbeaten British light middleweight prospect who has been sparring with the IBO titlist. Hall, who like his trainer Brian Hughes hails from Manchester, is a keen student of the finer points of the game and thinks that his stable-mate can pull off the upset. “Robin has been a lot sharper in sparring these last few weeks and is just now peaking, right on time for Saturday night,” said Hall. “Lacy, he loads up a lot and when he does that he’s not looking at his defense, just his offense. That can be a bad thing and I think that if Robin just keeps his hands up land throws straight shots down the middle and catches Lacy, I think he can be in for an easier night than a lot of people think. Lacy uses a lot of energy when he misses those big shots and sometimes has to step back and take a few deep breaths. I think that will come into play but Robin has to use angles all the time and can’t stay still. He’s a much better fighter than a lot of people give him credit for being and I think he was robbed of two world titles in fights against Joe Calzaghe and Sven Ottke.”
Team Reid is planning on their man shocking those expecting the challenger to be nothing more than a doormat for Jeff Lacy to tread upon, but Hughes is dismayed at the manner in which his fighter is being underestimated. “We know Lacy is very, very dangerous, there’s no two ways about it and it’s no good kidding ourselves but these odds over here, they’re giving 22-1 on Robin!” exclaimed the trainer. “He might as well have no arms and legs! Robin’s picture isn’t even on the same poster as Lacy’s. Mind you, we think that will all change after Saturday. Lacy will come to Robin because I don’t think he knows any other way to fight and that will suit us. Robin won’t have to go looking for him; he doesn’t like to fight guys he has to go looking for, because Lacy will be in his face all the time. Please God, everything that we’ve been doing will work out but I do know that Robin will give 100% and he’s not come over here just for a payday. He’s over here to win a world championship, that’s what he wants, and I think it’s going to be a very, very exciting fight.”
This may be the last time that Robin Reid has the opportunity to regain his former status as a legitimate world champion and the thirty-four-year-old knows it. He’s counting on his distinct advantages to carry him through the twelve dangerous rounds that he must navigate on Saturday while doing everything in his power to turn Jeff Lacy’s own strengths against him. “At the end of the day I can do a number of things in a fight and I never go into one without having different options, “said Reid. “While Lacy is very good at what he does, I’m not sure he could get on his back foot and win a fight, or win a fight on just his jab if he needed to, where as I can. I can come forward and mix it up a little bit as well; I’ve never seen anyone take the fight to Lacy so that could be another option for me.
“I’ve learned in my career that you can’t set yourself up to do just one task. Take the “Winky†Wright – Felix Trinidad fight for example. Wright just boxed his head off, won it purely on the jab. Trinidad didn’t know what to do because he had just set his sights on going in there to try and knock “Winky†Wright out. It wasn’t working because he was getting his head jabbed off and Wright made him look second class. I’m giving that match-up as an example of how some fighters can get set in their ways, even a great world champion like Felix Trinidad, and just go in to do what they do best but when it doesn’t work out, they don’t have any other options.
“For all I know Jeff Lacy might try to come into the ring and box my head off on Saturday but, going on the fights of his that I’ve seen, he usually does what he does best and that’s come forward to try and knock you out. I really think Lacy is a great fighter, he won a world title after only fifteen fights and I have the utmost respect for him. But, I look at this fight as maybe being a little too much too soon for him. I’m sure the best man will win on Saturday, and no disrespect intended, I just think that’s going to be me. He’s young enough that he can bounce back to win another world title but I think that my experience and age are going to be the determining factors in this fight.”
SaddoBoxing.com would like to thank Robin Reid, Brian Hughes, Matthew Hall and Jess Harding for making this article possible.
Contact Curtis McCormick at thomaspointrd@aol.com