He wasn't a fake and Joe did not ruin him...Then again it was both (If that makes sense)...I knew Jeff down in Florida as an amateur when a guy named Ron Woods used to work with him (Long Before the Olympic days).....Jeff had all the tools but for some reason was kept a fighter who had to rely on power...Not that is what he wanted but that is what his trainers seemed to have him doing...They felt that Jeff had enough power to not focus on the important things...

Problem is that trend was kept up through the pro's...

Lacy had the ability to execute all the tools but no one seemed to want to make those tools available to him....

By the time he reached Calzaghe it was almost too late....The beating he took added with the fact he was kept a one dimensional fighter for so long the combination of that with the hurt confidence took his want to suceed out of the game...Jeff has no desire to start back at square one (Which is what he would have to do to rebuild himself)...And like many young hard hitting fighters the first big loss hurt his psyche by letting him know he is not invincible like everyone was feeding him to be....

The blame is to be put mostly on his handlers....

I liken him to a poor mans Fernando Vargas....Power, ability but those around him handled him wrong...Fernando was brought along to fast and it hurt him in the end...Same as Jeff Lacy