Calzaghe takes Lacy to school by Ian McNeilly Mar 5th 2006

In one of the greatest performances ever seen in a British ring, WBO super-middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe beat Jeff Lacy on points to take the American's IBF title at Manchester's MEN Arena. Calzaghe did not just beat Lacy. He annihilated him, took him to school, however you want to express it in the vernacular. In fact, our braggart American friends have an expression to describe the events of last night. Owned. I had tentatively predicted a Calzaghe points win, pedantically calling it a '55/45 fight'. Never did I think my scorecard after 12 rounds would read 119-107, a tally that was echoed by judges Adelaide Byrd and Roy Francis. The third judge, Nelson Vasquez, had it even wider at 119-105. If you think by those scores that Newbridge's new dual-world champion lost a round, think again. The only blot on Welshman's copy book was a rather picky point deduction from referee Raul Caiz in the eleventh round for trying to hit Lacy when his (Calzaghe's) back was turned. Lacy was down in the twelfth as an inspired Calzaghe went to confirm his utter dominance with a late stoppage. The formerly unbeaten, touted slugger from St Petersburg, Florida was in trouble on other occasions, reflecting judge Vasquez decision to award three 10-8 rounds. Never before can I remember a betting underdog prevailing in a bout of this magnitude by scores that rightly reflected such complete authority. In summary, Lacy was made to look a crude, one-dimensional brawler as he was bewildered from first bell to last by Calzaghe's combination of blistering hand speed, sublime timing and exemplary work rate. By the halfway point, I was beginning to feel the worst emotion one can in the sporting arena. Pity. The electricity in the air at ringside was almost tangible as Lacy entered the arena to almost universal hostility. He remained focused, as did Calzaghe who was predictably greeted with euphoric support. The pattern was set immediately. The first session was dominated by Calzaghe who showed mesmerising hand speed when throwing his effective southpaw jabs and quick combinations. Lacy attempted to counter with hard shots of his own but the WBO champ evaded almost all with ease. He rode a solid Lacy left hook which must have dispirited the challenger. A note in my book as early as the second round reads "Calzaghe far too quick, making Lacy look silly." Even at this stage, the IBF champion seemed bereft of ideas. Calzaghe even stood at ring centre and smiled contemptuously at Lacy before unleashing a flurry. Not to be discouraged, Lacy connected with a big left hook to start the third but Calzaghe did not seem unduly worried. In a rare show of territorial dominance, the stocky American had the Briton pinned in a neutral corner but Calzaghe boxed well off the ropes. Coming out of the supposed trap, Calzaghe showed absolutely blistering hand speed and accuracy in a flash combination. Lacy only looked foolish in his attempts to respond as he missed by a long way before finding a glove flush in the face for the umpteenth time. In the first of what would be a plethora of cuts, Lacy bled from the nose. By the end of the fourth, Lacy was also bleeding from the mouth and both eyes as well as the nose and might very well have picked up a cut on his forehead too – at least so it appeared from ringside. The Floridian complained about use of the head but he would have been better served using his own to come up with an alternative strategy to lumbering forward and eating leather. To be fair to the visitor, he kept going. He tried to pick it up at the start of the fifth but his greater efforts simply meant Calzaghe had even more opportunities to pick him off, opportunities he took with relish. A desperate uppercut missed and Calzaghe pounced to counter, combinations launched and landed with the staccato precision of a machine gun. Becoming more comfortable by the round, Calzaghe was throwing multi-punch salvos at his discretion, most of which landed. When faced with yet another predictable Lacy bull-like rush, Calzaghe would either disappear or smother his opponent's work in close which occasionally prompted Lacy to resume his complaints about head use. Lacy did enjoy fleeting success at the start of the seventh round but had these rare winners returned with interest. It was becoming clear that whatever Lacy was going to offer, Calzaghe was simply going to top it. Lacy's marauding walk had taken him into Calzaghe's corner and the Brit unleashed a huge salvo, two huge left hooks ironically rocking 'Left Hook' Lacy to his boots. In a clear, pointed moment of psychological dominance, the pair stood at ring centre on the toll of the bell to end the round. Calzaghe, looking a full foot taller than the dispirited Lacy, put his shoulder into the American and smiled. Lacy, head down, did not want to know and trudged solemnly to his all too brief respite. Again, Lacy enjoyed fleeting success at the start of the eighth and it seemed Calzaghe might have been taking a breather after the exertions of the previous round in which Lacy proved he had an excellent chin. But the Welshman even clinched this one as he picked up his work rate again in the last minute and landed three good combinations. Another psychological downturn for Lacy came in the ninth. Calzaghe started well but Lacy landed a really hard left hook flush to Calzaghe's chin – the punch that has disposed of so many of his 17 knocked out opponents (from 21 wins). Lacy must have been frustrated and bewildered when Calzaghe barely blinked. To make matters worse, Lacy's attempts to follow up on what should have been an advantage simply appeared crude. Calzaghe was now in showboating territory, winding up the right hand and landing with the left. One could only wonder how the Americans, so fond as a nation of such braggadocio, were reacting when it was happening to their next - and now former - superstar. Calzaghe was teeing off on Lacy at will. In the tenth, Calzaghe's hands were low, showing utter contempt for the much-vaunted Lacy power. The crowd were, and had been for some time in truth, chanting 'Easy! Easy!' and although it made me cringe as there's no better way to tempt fate, their collective summary was as accurate as it was simplistic. At the start of the eleventh, Lacy went down from a push, a push which would not have budged him previously. For all his resilience, he was understandably weakening. With Calzaghe utterly dominant, Lacy could only shake his head in frustration. Admirably, he was still trying, though it was obvious for some time that no plan B was to be seen in the visitor's approach. Calzaghe was enjoying himself so much, he got a point knocked off (rather harshly) for playing silly beggars when his own back was turned. The WBO and soon to be IBF champion could easily have spent three minutes running and waving to the crowd in the final session. Not likely. Lacy surged desperately, with exactly the same desperate surge he had been showing for many rounds and Calzaghe countered venomously. What looked like a left hook detonated on Lacy and down went the American as the crowd bayed for the finish that would frank their hero's total superiority. The ref's pedantry meant the action was halted as a tiny piece of tape was flapping from Lacy's glove. To be frank, Lacy had bigger things to worry about but the rest might just have helped him reach the final bell. In the neutral corner to which he'd been sent, Calzaghe raised his arms, asking the crowd to cheer him home, not that the twelve thousand or so in attendance needed any encouragement. The bloody-minded resilience Lacy showed perhaps deserved the scant reward of not being knocked out and this, at least, he achieved. Lesser men - most world-class super-middles - would have folded rounds ago. The outcome was not in doubt. A jubilant Frank Warren leaned over to the press section and beamed "I told you, he took him to school...the best performance ever!" "Losing sucks," mused Lacy's promoter Gary Shaw in the post-fight press conference. "It wasn't to be. He ran up against the better man. They had a game plan and Joe executed the game plan and Jeff didn't execute Dan's (Birmingham) game plan. The plan was not to throw one overhand right. Jeff is still a young fighter and hasn't had the experience Joe has had. I'm not making any excuses. This is a bitter pill for me to swallow. Joe should now get fights like Roy Jones and Tarver and for me, he beats both hands down." Lacy's trainer Dan Birmingham was as fulsome in his praise for Calzaghe as he was in his recriminations for his own fighter. "I've never seen a better performance by any boxer - an American, never mind a Brit. It was a clinic, he took him to school, a performance like Winky Wright puts on. A masterful job. A master of defence and timing. My hat is off to him. "Jeff wasn't hurt... he was discouraged. We had more than two plans but when your fighter won't execute them, what can you do?" Before the press conference, Enzo Calzaghe - who was certainly as much proud father as successful trainer in the aftermath - informally revealed that three weeks ago the Calzaghe camp were 50/50 on whether to pull out of the fight as Joe was complaining of pain in his hands and an injured wrist. "With Joe a lot of it is psychological and I just told him that we were going for it and that was that." Warren initially revealed that Joe had broken his left hand but when the champion took the mic himself, he said "It happened in the eighth or ninth round. I don't think it's broken, just badly bruised. "I've never been so focused and dedicated. Eight years I've been champion and I've been written off by a lot of people. This fight has been on my mind morning, noon and night. I demolished him and outclassed him. His punches didn't trouble me in the slightest. I was expecting more. I saw them coming from miles away. I knew I was going to win the fight. How's that for a slapper? Those slaps had his legs going all over the place. "If I get a chance to fight Jones or Tarver in America, I'll go for it." The longest-serving champion in world boxing, 41 contests unbeaten and now, surely, deserving of all the plaudits many have denied him over the years. When I skittered to my car through the freezing 4.30am Manchester air accompanied only by the sounds of my own footsteps, the fitting catchphrase of Welsh comedian Max Boyce came to mind. "I was there!"

Go back Comment on this article | Send to a friend | Print

Friend name: Friend email: Your name: Your email:   Privacy Statement

Great review! Mar 5th 2006, 15:29:14 by chrisparker Hi Ian, I stayed up to watch the fight and your review captured the excitement and atmosphere, right down to the blood off Lacey's grill! As I'm not the biggest boxing fan, this was a great advert for anyone wishing to follow the sport a bit more. The bout wasn't bad either! Once again, respect for a great review.   Humble Pie Mar 5th 2006, 07:44:48 by webmaster Well after seeing performance last night today I have to eat humble pie, I really thought the desire and hunger had gone from Calzaghe and that he would be blown away by Lacy's left hook. But as James Russell at Maloney Promotions predicted Calzaghe took Lacy to school - Respect James!! Mr McNeilly as per normal a great review of the fight Kev