Mendoza had Lacy hurt in the second (video below), sixth, and eighth and should have finished the job in at least one of those rounds. In the second Mendoza had Lacy staggering but quickly outpunched himself going for the knockout and couldn’t sustain any meaningful blows.

In the sixth Lacy spat out his mouthpiece to give himself a breather and in the eighth he forcefully tackled Mendoza into the ropes. The tackle seemed to suck a great deal of power from the Columbian challenger; prior to the dirty veteran move Mendoza was energetic and dominating but afterwards his power looked drained.

Understandably, the crowd at Morongo Casino Resort & Spa in Cabazon, California showered the pro-Lacy decision with boos and vehement disapprovals.

Jeff Lacy did not deserve the win last night in the same way he didn’t deserve to majority decision Vitali Tsypko. Lacy leads a charmed life inside the ring. That charm will disappear if he steps up to fight Jermain Taylor. No judges will save him during that fight.

The remainder of ESPN2’s entertaining Wednesday Night Fight card featured three knockouts. The Ring’s #5 lightweight Jose Armando Santa Cruz (26-3-0) blasted Miguel Angel Munguia (16-13-1) with a fifth round body shot that left the inappropriately nicknamed fighter (El Flaco) screaming to the canvas in pain.

In the other bouts prospects Danny Jacobs (8-0-0) and Carlos Velasquez (8-0-0) both scored early round knockouts over over-matched opponents. Jacobs’ fight lasted only one round while Velasquez’ managed to go two.

Post from: EveryJoe

Jeff Lacy Wins Another Controversial Decision

Jeff Lacy was a rising super middleweight star prior to his March 4, 2006 demolition at the hands of Joe Calzaghe. Since then things haven’t been the same for the 2000 U.S. Olympian.

In December of 2006 Lacy staggered to a razor thin majority decision of Ukrainian Vitali Tsypko although few ringside observers felt Lacy had done enough to win. His next fight came a year later in December 2007 against The Contender favorite Peter Manfredo, Jr., a fight that appeared on the Ricky Hatton – Floyd Mayweather, Jr. undercard. Left Hook Lacy was again underwhelming in victory.

Tonight Lacy fights journeyman Columbian Epifanio Mendoza on ESPN2’s Wednesday Night Fights in only his third bout since Calzaghe and the first not seen on HBO. The fight is unlikely to answer questions about Lacy’s diminishing skills — Mendoza should give him little trouble — but it will be nice to see the consensus #5 super middleweight on free T.V. A convincing win might even solidify a fight against America’s other top ten super middle: Jermain Taylor.

Post from: EveryJoe

Does Jeff Lacy Still Have It?

In the mail today I received an advanced copy of George Kimball’s forthcoming book Four Kings. The book profiles the four great middleweights of what the book’s subtitle refers to as “The Last Great Era of Boxing”: Leonard, Hagler, Hearns, and Duran. No first names are needed.

I’m usually the first person to dismiss and be angered by baby boomer claims that athletes were different then and that their era of sports was the best. The glorious eighties. Problem is that when I am confronted with their challenge of “well then, whose a great middleweight now?” I can only stammer back with Kelly Pavlik.

I’m not saying The Ghost isn’t as talented as those luminaries but what evidence do I have? I guess Jermain Taylor but his fight two Saturday’s ago against Gary Lockett was so appalling and such a mismatch that I didn’t blog about it. It wasn’t exactly news.

Pavlik’s biggest excuse is that he’s only 26 and still has time. What’s Joe Calzaghe’s excuse? He’s spent his whole career running from the top competition, sequestering himself in the Welsh countryside. Talks continue to fester about him fighting 39-year-old Roy Jones, Jr. and skipping out on Pavlik. “It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that (Pavlik and I) will face each other, but I think Jones is the right fight for me at the moment.” Calzaghe told reporters.

What he’s telling boxing and his fans is that he doesn’t and never has cared about them or the greater context of his sport.

And that’s his priority. It’s his body that he’s putting on the line and his career he has to look after. Is that fair to us as fans? Does it really matter?

All we can hope for is that another talented set of fighters come again and choose to fight each other in their primes. Is that such a crazy concept?

Photo Source: Newscom.com

Post from: EveryJoe

When Will Another Four Kings Ever Return?