Exclusive Interview: Dan Birmingham.

“Reid has never been down before but he’s never faced anyone like Jeff and we’re going to make it real difficult for Reid.”–Dan Birmingham sees an easy night’s work for his man Jeff Lacy against Robin Reid.

Lacy’s Trainer Anticipates Shutout Win against Reid.

Dan Birmingham is one of today’s hottest trainers, coaching both former unified light middleweight world champion Ronald “Winky” Wright and IBF super middleweight boss Jeff Lacy from his training base in Florida. We were fortunate enough to speak with Dan as he was in the midst of preparing Lacy for a title defense against former WBC titlist Robin Reid, which headlines Showtime’s big boxing card tonight in Tampa, and we discussed this much-anticipated bout along with the potential unification fight with Welshman Joe Calzaghe later in the year.

SaddoBoxing builds the big fights like nobody else and we conclude our Lacy-Reid preview coverage with a one-on-one interview with Lacy’s trainer Dan Birmingham. Don’t miss it!

SaddoBoxing: How do you see this fight with Robin Reid?

Dan Birmingham: “I don’t think he’s special, although he’s pretty good in all categories. I do think he’s tailor made for Jeff. I think he may try to move a little bit at first but I think he may stand and try to trade with Jeff at some point, which I think will be his undoing.”

SB: I believe that Reid is about the same height as Lacy; do you see that as an advantage with Jeff usually having to fight taller opponents?

DB: “Yes, it is; the fact that he’s the same height as Jeff means it’s going to be easier to get to him.”

SB: So you don’t think that Reid, at thirty-four-years-of age, will have the stamina to keep Lacy on the outside?

DB: “No, we’re going to put a pace on him that we don’t think he’ll be able to match.”

SB: Do you see this potentially as Lacy’s toughest fight to date?

DB: “A lot of people have been saying that but I don’t think so. If Robin Reid were boxing here in America, he’d be an average fighter. Most of his competition has been against Euros and I’ve seen a lot of them fight. I don’t think they match up to the guys Jeff has fought like Syd Vanderpool and Rubin Williams.”

SB: Do you see Lacy stopping Reid in this fight?

DB: “Reid has never been down before but he’s never faced anyone like Jeff and we’re going to make it real difficult for Reid.”

SB: Do you see experience as being the primary threat posed by Reid?

DB: “Actually Jeff has more experience, although he’s only had nineteen professional fights, due to his amateur pedigree where he had 210 fights.”

SB: Going ahead for a moment, if everything were to go right for you folks in this one, I imagine that you’d be looking forward to fighting Joe Calzaghe?

DB: “Oh yeah, we’d love to take the plane ride over there because it doesn’t matter to us where we fight Calzaghe. We’re looking forward to that very much.”

SB: Do you see Calzaghe as being more substantial an opponent than Reid?

DB: “Maybe in the sense that he’s a little faster handed, a southpaw and a little quicker footed, but I think that eventually Jeff will catch him. I do think that Joe’s fought much better competition than Robin Reid has, given that he’s made seventeen WBO title defenses, and that he would probably be more difficult for Jeff. But I think as was the case with Vanderpool, he’s a quick southpaw that Jeff would catch up with eventually.”

SB: Is there anything you’d like to say in closing?

DB: Just that fans should tune in because it’s going to be a great fight that’s going to end with Jeff Lacy having his hand raised.”

Contact Curtis McCormick at thomaspointrd@aol.com