Jeff Lacy Climbs the Ladder.

Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy is one of boxing’s most promising fighters and will be looking to build on that reputation as he defends his IBF super middleweight belt tomorrow night in Las Vegas against the ever-dangerous Omar Sheika. Lacy has only seventeen professional fights on his resume, and although the last seven have been against ever threatening competition, Sheika represents a considerable step up for the twenty-seven year old from St. Petersburg, Florida. After Lacy

Jeff Lacy Click for larger image © Tom Casino

dismantled the vastly more experienced Syd Vanderpool just two short months ago to take the IBF crown, promoter Gary Shaw feels confident that his fighter is more than ready to turn back the challenge of anyone in the super middleweight division. With that, we bring you a closer look at this intriguing contest between a freshly minted champion and his hardened opponent, a former two-time world title challenger.

Jeff Lacy, 17-0 (14), can punch. Hard. Aside from Vitali Tsypko, who suffered an early fight ending accidental head butt, only slippery Richard Grant, wily veteran Ross Thompson and the amazingly granite jawed Pennsylvania hard man Bobby Jones have gone the distance with the IBF super middleweight king. Fourteen others including Syd Vanderpool, Donnell Wiggins, Anwar Oshana and James Crawford never got to hear the sweet sound of the fight-ending bell. Lacy’s power is so prodigious that even Gary Shaw, one of boxing’s most seasoned and accomplished fight figures, is duly impressed. “Jeff has fierce power,” said Shaw. “He may be the biggest puncher in all of boxing right now. Looking at the heavyweights out there, he probably punches equal to if not harder than anyone in the heavyweight division.”

Luckily, boxing isn’t just about power, but rather a deceivingly complex sport that few of the untold number of participants the world over can master to the point of engaging in or even winning a recognized world title. The successful boxer must have more than just power, he or she must also posses the difficult to measure intangible ingredients that separate the top contenders from the teeming masses below. To date, Lacy has shown that he does indeed possess those hard to quantify qualities such as toughness, skill, determination and most importantly, what is known in the fight game as “heart.”

Tomorrow night’s bout against Omar Sheika, 26-6 (17), will likely test Lacy’s “heart” to an extent that none of his previous fights have. Sheika is coming off of three straight wins over experienced campaigners and would like nothing better than to use Lacy as a stepping-stone to the glory of a world title. Prior world title showdowns with Wales’ Joe Calzaghe and Canada’s Eric Lucas ended in disappointment for the New Jersey native, as did two thrilling NABF title tear-ups with Scott Pemberton. Lacy knows that Sheika will come to fight but is ready for the challenge. “Omar has the same style as I do and it’ll be two punchers in the ring, so anything can happen,” remarked the defending champion. “All it takes in boxing is one punch and everything can change. I’m just making sure that I’m ready for it when it comes and that I’m the one doing the ass kicking instead of him!”

Lacy’s title winning bout against Syd Vanderpool impressed fight fans and the media, many of whom wondered if the promising prospect with only sixteen prior bouts was ready for such heights. Gary Shaw was not one of the doubters, having seen his fighter unquestionably overcome every hurtle put in his path. “Jeff is a fierce competitor who wants to fight and who wants to please the fans,”he said. “He styles himself in the ring after a prime Evander Holyfield. When Holyfield stepped into the ring, you knew you were going to see a fight one way or another. I have a lot of respect for Omar Sheika and on a personal level, I like him very much, but I’ll be surprised if he boxes Jeff. If he does, I don’t think it’ll be too many rounds before it ends up being a war. Styles make fights and Omar’s style is a good one for Jeff, who really likes to fight. Anyone who is willing to fight Jeff, in my estimation, will probably be in some kind of trouble.”

Styles do indeed make fights and that old truism will almost certainly come into play tomorrow night but the beauty of boxing is that there are no certainties. Ever. For Jeff Lacy, the show goes on and if he has his way, it won’t stop for a long time to come. “I came up short as an Olympian four years ago so for me winning a world title was kind of like capturing a gold medal after all,” he said. “To come back and defend my title just two months later is exciting because I’m the type of fighter who likes to stay busy. I think that with the style that Omar and I both have, I think there’s a chance the fight won’t go the distance. If it does then it’ll be a great, great fight in which to end the year on. I think that I’m an Evander Holyfield, Riddick Bowe or a Mike Tyson type of fighter, one of those crowd-pleasing fighters that’s willing to face anyone in the ring. Now that I have the title, I’ll get a chance to face the top contenders and other champions out there.”

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Curtis McCormick can be reached at thomaspointrd@aol.com