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As the evening fell on what would be an exciting and electrifying night, the purple and blue sky and the swaying palm trees were the perfect backdrop for one of the most memorable nights in boxing for all of Florida. We witnessed the younger fighters go out and dominate their opponents, some with relative ease, and we also witnessed the last fight of David |
Santos, one who played a vital role in making Tampa boxing what it is today. As I sat outside on the bench in front of the tinted windows of the lavish Hyatt Regency hotel in Tampa, I considered the thought of not being able to attend this event or even what I’d be missing if in fact I were unable to be present. I was not let down, not one bit. From the door of the hotel to the gates of the forum, it was total class and dignity by all involved. As I walked down the corridor approaching the weigh-in room, I ran into Robin Reid. I asked him how he was doing, and he replied, “Fine, I feel great, I just made weight and I’m ready to go!” I wished him the best and we went our separate ways. Jeff Lacy came in moments later for a second weigh-in due to being a pound over at 169-pounds. He made weight, easily dropping two pounds in forty minutes; he was set and ready to go and I also asked him how he was feeling and what was going on with the weight. Lacy answered, “I’m good, I made weight, I feel fine, but hungry!” We finished our chat and off he went.
Join SaddoBoxing’s Katrina Walters for the on the scene report from Saturday’s Lacy-Reid fight. Don’t miss this exclusive account of the event.
As I returned to my seat on the bench, I began to feel the momentum building as fighters, referees, judges and officials begin to pull in to the valet and check into the hotel. I took it all in and later called it a night.
On Saturday evening, mere moments away from Lacy entering the ring, Reid had just walked down and been booed into his corner. As Lacy began his walk down to the ring, over 15,000 fans, family members and close friends cheered and praised their hometown hero and champion into the ring. The sounds of cheering and well wishing for the Tampa/St. Pete native was heart pounding and deafening.
The ring announcement passed and the fighters were in the middle of the ring and the bell sounded. Before we knew it, we were in the middle of a super middleweight championship showdown. One fighter has never been down and the other refuses to go down. By now, you have probably been informed of the outcome, but being there live to hear the punches as they were being landed and hearing the cheers of the people were quite overwhelming.
Lacy prevailed in stunning fashion, dominating Reid, round by exciting round until the action ended, stopped by the corner of Robin Reid. There were moments where both fighters exchanged roughhouse tactics, but this is boxing and it made for exciting fillers in between the clinches. As Reid threw stiff body shots, Lacy threw neck-snapping jabs, and as Lacy threw thunderous body shots, Reid held on, a smart move. “Left Hook” showed more versatility than ever before, feinting and showing much more head movement, and getting off that stiff jab, snapping Reid’s head back violently.
The new and improved Lacy is thanks to Darryl Hudson, strength and conditioning coach to Lacy this time around and to “Winky” Wright. Hudson worked with Wright Felix Trinidad fight. I asked Hudson what he worked on with Jeff to get that jab firing so well, and he explained, “I watched that he wasn’t moving his feet much, see it’s all in the movement of the feet, that frees everything else up, we got that working and we worked on strength.” It all paid off, as Jeff lacy is the IBF and IBO super middleweight champion of the world in the place where the heart is: home!
On behalf of SaddoBoxing I must thank Fred Sternburg for making it all possible. Thanks also to Dan Birmingham for cultivating such a great champion and wonderful person in Jeff Lacy (I didn’t forget about you Dan). Also to Darryl Hudson, Keith Stewart, Yani, Ivan, Liz, Lisa, Regina, Kenny and the entire Lacy family for making me feel welcome. And last but certainly not least, Jeff Lacy, for putting on a spectacular showing of poise and skill inside the ring and humility and graciousness outside the ring.
Contact Katrina Walters at boxingkatrina@aol.com
