Jeff Lacy
| Jeff Lacy | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Jeffrey Scott Lacy |
| Nickname(s) | Left Hook |
| Rated at | Super middleweight |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Nationality |  American |
| Born | May 12, 1977 St. Petersburg, Florida |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 30 |
| Wins | 25 |
| Wins by KO | 17 |
| Losses | 4 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 1 |
Jeffrey Scott Lacy (born May 12, 1977 in St. Petersburg, Florida) is a semi-retired American boxer. He is a former International Boxing Federation super middleweight champion.
Contents |
Amateur career[edit]
Lacy had 210 fights as an amateur, winning the 1999 National PAL amateur champion at 165 pounds, the 1998 U.S. National amateur champion at 165 pounds, and the 1998 National PAL amateur champion at 165 pounds. Lacy fought at the 1996 Eastern Olympic Trials, stopping Kenneth Head in the first round. In the quarter-finals, Lacy defeated Rubin Williams. In the semi-finals, Lacy lost to Darnell Wilson and finished third.
In the 1997 National Golden Gloves, Lacy again defeated Rubin Williams, but lost against Randy Griffin in the semi-finals and finished in third place. In the quarter-finals of the 2000 Olympic Team trials, Lacy won a decision over Brad Austin. In the semi-finals, Lacy won a decision over Jerson Ravelo. During the finals, Lacy won a 26-10 decision over Randy Griffin.
During the 2000 Olympic Team Box-offs, Lacy lost to Arthur Palac. In his second fight, Lacy defeated him on the scorecards. He was a member of the 2000 United States Olympic boxing team along with future undisputed middleweight champion Jermain Taylor. During his first bout in Sydney, Australia, Lacy knocked out Cleiton Conceição of Brazil at 0:58 of the third round. During his second bout, Lacy defeated Pawel Kakietek of Poland, en route to a 21-7 decision. During the third bout, Lacy was stopped at 1:49 of the third round by Gaidarbek Gaidarbekov of Russia.
Professional career[edit]
Rise to stardom[edit]
Lacy made his professional debut against Jerald Lowe on February 2, 2001, knocking him out in the first round. He won his next eight fights by way of knockout and won the WBC Continental Americas super middleweight title against Anwar Oshana, by way of technical knockout in round two.
On July 15, 2003, he won the USBA and NABA super middleweight titles after beating Richard Grant by unanimous decision. He defended all three of his belts against Donnell Wiggins by TKO 8. He later fought Syd Vanderpool for the vacant IBF super middleweight title on October 2, 2004, winning by TKO in 8 rounds. He defended it against Omar Sheika, Rubin Williams, former champion Robin Reid, and Scott Pemberton.
Loss to Joe Calzaghe[edit]
- Main article Joe Calzaghe vs. Jeff Lacy
On March 5, 2006, at the MEN Arena in Manchester, England, Lacy lost his title to Joe Calzaghe. Despite being a favorite going into the fight, Lacy lost by a unanimous points decision and was knocked down in the twelfth round. The fight was extremely one sided with scores of 119-105, 119-107 and 119-107. A point deducted from Calzaghe in the 11th round was all that prevented Lacy from losing every round on every card.
After Calzaghe[edit]
Lacy fought a rematch with Vitali Tsypko on December 2, 2006, in Tampa, Florida, on the same card as Winky Wright's fight against Ike Quartey. This was the second time he had fought Tsypko, the first fight in 2004 which ended in a majority decision. Lacy won the fight by scores of 96-94, 96-94, 95-95. After the bout, it was revealed that Lacy had torn his rotator cuff and was injured throughout most of the fight. Lacy had surgery on the injury and did not fight for a year after the bout.
Lacy returned on December 8, 2007, to defeat Peter Manfredo Jr. by a unanimous decision. On July 23, 2008, beat Epifanio Mendoza by a majority decision. Lacy then fought former world middleweight champion Jermain Taylor on November 15, 2008, and lost the fight by unanimous decision,[1] making it only the second loss of his career.
On April 10, 2009, Jeff Lacy defeated Otis Griffin by a majority decision with the scores of 97-93, 96-94, 95-95.
Loss to Roy Jones Jr. and Beyond[edit]
On August 15, 2009, Lacy suffered a 10th round technical knockout to Roy Jones Jr..
Sixteen months after the loss to Jones Jr., Lacy returned to his hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida to face journeyman Dhafir Smith. Smith defeated Lacy by a unanimous decision.
Personal life[edit]
Lacy played the role of Malice Blake in the 2007 boxing movie, "The Hammer", starring and produced by Adam Carolla. Jeff is the younger brother of Hydra Lacy and older brother of undefeated professional heavyweight Kenny Lacy and son of professional heavyweight Hydra Lacy, Sr.[2]
Professional boxing record[edit]
References[edit]
External links[edit]
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sven Ottke Retired |
IBF Super Middleweight Champion October 10, 2004–March 5, 2006 |
Succeeded by Joe Calzaghe |
