One Punch Away; Lacy\’s have Some Power!
| Jeff Lacy’s nickname is a testament to his power and presence. Having a menacing left hook without it being your boxing nickname can push opponents away from you. When it’s a part of your name, as in Lacy’s case, it can have a psychological impact on your opponent. At one point in time, when the Bernard Hopkins versus Jermain Taylor fight was almost a no go, due to financial |  Click for larger image © Tom Casino/Showtime |
contentions, Lacy stepped up eagerly and offered his services to the then champion Bernard Hopkins. Despite Lacy being a full-fledged super middleweight, he was willing to shed a few pounds to enter into a fight with one of the best. Lacy, the IBF super middleweight champion is on a path to prove his abilities and define the reason why he is one of the best in all of the sport today.
He has a nineteen and zero record and his professional boxing career has been guided by careful selection of his opponents. Lacy has displayed increasing power, talent, ring maturity and superb confidence with each of his fights. He displayed persistence and athleticism against Syd Vanderpool and patience with his style showed promise against Omar Sheika. The challenge that is in front of Lacy come this Saturday will be one that will grant the boxing public a clear assertion on Lacy’s progress. Robin Reid has come to box and with the latest upsets in the boxing world, that mere fact is more than enough inspiration to push Reid into giving it his all.
Experience and championship pressures are factors Reid has on his side. All four of Reid’s losses have come by way of decision and with that being a factor, he knows the only advantage he has on his side is to beat Lacy convincingly. If Reid wins this fight, he will be in the middle of making things happen again. Lacy, who is not taking this fight softly, has intentions on keeping his pace, his record undefeated, and future fights with Joe Calzaghe and Jermain Taylor in the waiting.
Lacy is a humble boxer who has paid tremendous respect to Reid by not looking ahead and talking trash to the superstars against whom he might battle in the future. He has only Reid on his mind and Reid has his thirty-ninth win on his mind. Lacy’s attention span is all on Reid, and one has to wonder if Lacy’s concentration is strong enough to sustain the current state of boxing upsets, both in the decision aspect and the shocking knockout wins. It only takes one punch to place a boxer on the canvas and with a young prospect like Lacy, being on the end of that one punch can donate his career to the bottom of the big fights list.
Many boxers, both potential great boxers and veterans seem to forget that every fight is a learning experience in this sport they love so much. Reid, and some in the boxing world, look for an upset and what some may forget is that if Reid is not paying close attention, he could wind up on the unfortunate end of Lacy’s dangerous “Left-hook.” That one punch always matters.
Contact Shaun Rico LaWhorn at filmmaking_mentality@msn.com