'Left Hook' Not Looking To Swing Anytime Soon

ANWAR S. RICHARDSON The Tampa Tribune
Published: Aug 16, 2006

'Left Hook' Not Looking To Swing Anytime Soon

TAMPA - Former St. Petersburg super middleweight champion Jeff "Left Hook" Lacy fought five times in 13 months, but at this rate, he may not fight again in 2006.

After Lacy lost to Joe Calzaghe earlier this year, his career has been sidetracked. He decided to take off several months to recover physically and mentally. Lacy thought he was going to fight Tampa light heavyweight Antonio Tarver, but that fight fell apart during negotiations.

After verbally agreeing to fight Alan Green last month, Lacy began training. When Lacy found out a few days later that fight would be in October instead of November, he pulled out because there was not sufficient enough time to lose 30 pounds.

With no fights on the horizon, plus a touch-and-go relationship with promoter Gary Shaw, the possibility of seeing Lacy in the ring again this year is diminishing.

"I'm hoping to maybe fight in December, but if not, I'll fight in January or February. I haven't had any time off since 2000. I need this time off and be able to come back in great shape," Lacy said.

The natural question is whether Lacy has lost his love for boxing, which he answered.

"You have to ask the right question. I love the sport of boxing. The people you have to deal with is the sad part. Do I love boxing? Yes? I don't like the business of boxing. Once you get higher and higher in this sport, more things trickle down on you," Lacy said. "Every fighter has gone through it. It's a cut-throat business. When I have kids, none of them will box."

That is why Lacy is in no hurry to fight again.

Lacy knows if he loses again, he will become a mere opponent. He is trying to strategically calculate his next move, and though he denies a recently published report that he and Shaw have split, Lacy's next fight will clearly come on his schedule.

"I'm not going to rush myself and set myself up for something like that [Calzaghe fight] again. I didn't see anyone blaming Gary Shaw when I lost that fight. Everyone was coming down on me … I'm going to do my own thing with Dan Birmingham, and we're going to make the right decisions. Gary does a great job promoting, but he needs to leave the boxing and training to me," Lacy said. "The fighter you saw against Joe Calzaghe was not me. I'm not going to make any excuses, but there were a lot of things going on before that fight most people don't know about. When I come back, things are going to be a lot different."