Lacy vs Calzaghe

[GFR]

Lacy - Calzaghe Showtime Conference Call Quotes

22.02.06 - America???s No. 1 Boxing Network, SHOWTIME continues its 20th anniversary celebration of putting on world-class, great fights on Saturday, March 4, when talented, undefeated, hard-hitting super middleweight world champions Jeff ???Left Hook?????? Lacy (International Boxing Federation) and Joe Calzaghe (World Boxing Organization) collide in the main event on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING. The most significant unification world title bout in years will air live on SHOWTIME at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast) from the MEN Arena in Manchester, England. The highly anticipated, long-awaited match up is promoted by Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, in association with Frank Warren???s Sport Network.

Lacy: My training is going great. We are expecting a great fight on March 4. I am 110 percent ready for this battle between me and Joe. This is the beginning of my stardom as a professional fighter and I am taking Joe very seriously. I have not looked past him and I am doing everything I can in the gym, making sure I am staying healthy and everything else. So it is going to be a fight. From where I see it, it is going to be a really good fight..

Calzaghe: Yeah, it is a big fight. It is the biggest fight in a long time. I know Jeff is going to be possibly the toughest fight of my career, so I am under no illusions that this is going to be a tough night. Like I have shown in the past, I have always risen to the occasion. I have the heart of a champion and the ability. It is just getting everything right and performing on that night. So I am excited. It is an exciting fight. It is great for the division and great for boxing. I cannot wait for that night. It is going to be a great fight.

Begin Press Questions

Question: Jeff, how do you prepare for a fight that begins 2 a.m. local time?

Lacy: It will be 10 p.m. over here so, for me, it is according to our time zone over here in the US (so it will be like fighting at 10 at night).

Question: So are you training later then?

Lacy: No, I am training at the same time.

Question: Joe, what is it like for you to fight at 2 a.m.?

Calzaghe: It is a pain (chuckling). It is wintertime and gets dark at 5 o???clock, but it is one of those things. Just training later and adjusting.

Question: Jeff, Joe has ruled the super middleweight division for eight years. Is he one of the best 168-pound boxers of all time?

Lacy: That is why we are having this fight. He thinks he is and I think I am. He dominated the weight class since 1997 and I do give him credit, but I was not here before.

Question: Joe, do you have any game plan you are willing to divulge?

Calzaghe: I am a boxer-fighter. I have my own strength of speed. I also have power. So come the night, when the bell rings, we will see what happens.

Question: Jeff, is it in your mind at all that you are today???s version of a lighter Mike Tyson?

Lacy: They see me as, as one of those throwback fighters. When I enter the ring, I am coming in there to fight. And that is what this fight is all about. It is going to be a fight to where everybody is going to get their money???s worth and they are going to get to see a great fight.

Question: Joe, do you feel like Lacy may be underestimating your quickness and your power?

Calzaghe: He knows it is a big fight and has been coming for a long time. I am sure he is well prepared. I am well prepared. I am just looking forward to it.

Question: Joe, has your hand recovered since your last bout when it sustained some damage?

Calzaghe: I was off for five or six weeks, but everything has gone fine. I think the hand is fine.

Question: Jeff, once the best has been established in the division, where does he go from there?

Lacy: Right now, the only fight that is on my mind is the March 4 fight between me and Joe

Calzaghe. Ask that question after that fight is over with.

Question: Joe, there is concern coming from the Lacy camp that you still might possibly pull out of this fight. How do you answer that?

Calzaghe: I have no intention of pulling out of the fight. I am 100 percent focusing on training. So unless anything should fall out of the sky and land on my head, I will be there on March 4.

Question: Jeff, did you ever say Joe had a problem with his ticker?

Lacy: I do not know Joe that well to say he had a problem with his heart. That is a hard question for me to answer. I am not a doctor either.

Question: Joe, why do you suppose it is that you do not get the credit that most fighters get when they reach the level, 40-0 and such a long reign as champion? How come it has taken this fight for people to think that at the outcome, if you win, will you get that kind of credit?

Calzaghe: Probably because I have unfortunately been unable to get unification fights and there has not been any stars in the division. The big names are in the super middleweight division, and that has not happened.

Question: Do you think that is a criticism?

Calzaghe: Actually, I am fine. I have beat good fighters ??? some former world champions. I have achieved a lot and I have tried to get fights together in the past, but they have just fallen through. It has taken a couple of months to get this fight on. I am looking forward to it. I cannot wait until March 4 and to unify the belts.

Question: Do you think that if you win the fight that you will get the credit in the United States that has not come your way thus far?

Calzaghe: I hope so, yes.

Question: Jeff, you are getting this sort of defining fight after only 20-something fights. It has taken Joe 40-something. Do you feel that you have been rushed to get to this point?

Lacy: No. I feel like I am right where I am supposed to be. I am learning more and more each and every time I step into the ring. Everybody needs a shot, and this is just my shot.

Question: Jeff, in the initial press conference in London, you accused Joe of sloughing. Do you think it is wise to wind someone like Calzaghe up like that?

Lacy: It does not matter because when you are in the fight, you are in a fight. I mean, it is just like someone is trying to tell you what to do in the ring and you are on the outside looking in.

Question: If Joe needs any extra motivation in this fight, those kinds of accusations are just what he is after, right?

Lacy: I am prepared and may the best man win. That is the only thing I can say.

Question: Jeff, someone spoke about the credit that Joe does not get in America among the American fraternity. Is he big box office in America, Jeff?

Lacy: It is hard to become a big box office if you do not fight in the United States. Yeah, you have the boxing fans that watch you, but you do not have the working people knowing who Joe Calzaghe is.

Question: Joe, have you ever thought that this big unification fight would ever come?

Calzaghe: In boxing, things are out of your hands and there are always politics involved. You just learn to be patient and if it comes, it comes. So like I said, it can take years, but it is finally here and I am looking forward to it.

Question: Now you get to take out all your frustrations on Lacy?

Calzaghe: It is going to be a good fight and I am looking forward to it.

Question: Joe, when you envision the fight taking place, do you envision knocking out Lacy?

Calzaghe: I just see myself winning, obviously, but cannot make predictions. I always look for a tough fight and I am sure it will be a tough fight. I am 100 percent confident in my own ability and I am looking forward to it.

Question: Jeff, when you picture the fight, do you see an early knockout, a late knockout, a devastating knockout or any knockout at all?

Lacy: I see me winning the fight. That is what I vision.

Question: Joe, do you see this fight as a stepping stone towards unifying at 168 pounds, or possibly moving up to light heavyweight?

Calzaghe: I just see it as my career-defining fight. I have been champion for eight years, but have not had the big unification fight against a top fighter. Now, I have the opportunity. I have just got to concentrate on March 4. Obviously, after March 4, then you look at the next step in your career.

Question: Jeff, you have said that your dream was to unify the super middleweight division. Win, lose or draw, are you going to continue that quest after this fight?

Lacy: Yes, if the other champions are willing to step up. I am in the business of unifying the division. That is my goal, not my dream.​

 

[KentDog]

This will be a great fight.

 

[MACCA]

Cant wait, get the beers in, non alcoholic obviously......

 

[KentDog]

I love these "someone's 0 must go" fights. I really like Jeff Lacy, but I think Calzaghe's got him by TKO.

 

[section8]

I went with Lacy by decision just b/c I like him better, but damned if I know about this one, should be a really good fight.

 

[GFR]

Joe Calzaghe can yet become a household name in the UK

03.03.06 - Photos: TOM CASINO / SHOWTIME: The Countdown Is One! Both IBF champion Jeff Lacy and his WBO counterpart, Joe Calzaghe, made the weight for their eagerly awaited super middleweight unification showdown Saturday on SHOWTIME (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast) at Manchester, England. Lacy weighed 167 pounds at Friday's weigh-in while Calzaghe tipped scales at the division-limit 168 pounds.

by Stuart Cornwell: This may come as a surprise to boxing fans worldwide, but Joe Calzaghe is not actually particularly famous in the United Kingdom. The mention of his name would actually draw a blank from the vast majority (those ???people in the street???), who would have no trouble telling you who Amir Khan and Audley Harrison are, and who can still tell you whether they preferred Chris Eubank or Nigel Benn.. There will be some who can tell you Calzaghe is a boxer but they would be unlikely to tell you if they have seen Calzaghe fight or name any boxer that Calzaghe has beaten. Anyone able to tell you anything substantial about Calzaghe and his achievements is likely to be a hardcore boxing fan, the type of person who reads Boxing News and Ring magazine, and visits eastsideboxing.com.

​

The reason Calzaghe has remained so conspicuously anonymous may well be that he has fought almost exclusively on Sky Sports satellite channels and has not had the exposure that the likes of Benn and Eubank received for the bulk of their careers, and that Naseem Hamed received at the start of his. The lack of boxing on terrestrial and network TV on both sides of the Atlantic has certainly impacted upon the recognition afforded to boxers while at the same time reimbursing them handsomely with the profits acquired from satellite channel subscriptions and pay-per-view revenue. Not many among the last generation of elite American fighters can compete in terms of fame with their predecessors, simply because their superfights have not been broadcast into the living rooms of all America???s households at prime viewing time via the network channels ??? as was the case in the days of Ali and Frazier, Leonard and Duran. Even so, you would have thought that an UNBEATEN ???world champion??? who has reigned for eight and a half years, through 17 successful defences, (in a relatively small country with a long tradition for adulating its boxing champions), would be famous regardless of which TV station he is associated with. If you consider that at times Calzaghe has been Britain???s only world champion and that he holds the same title (WBO super-middle) that Chris Eubank used to hold, then it seems even more remarkable that he is just ???Joe Who???? to the vast majority.

I could go on all day attempting to analyze the other reasons why Joe Calzaghe has remained unheralded and unknown to the man on the street (his lack of a defining blockbuster fight, his very forgettable and horribly dull appearance on the Mike Tyson-Julius Francis undercard, his general lack of stiff competition and perhaps a conscious effort on his part to remain out of the limelight) but what really matters is that now , with the fight against Jeff Lacy featuring live on British terrestrial TV (ITV1) this Saturday night (Mar 4th), Calzaghe has the chance to become a bona fide ???household name??? (home and abroad) and a British boxing legend for the ages. The Calzaghe-Lacy fight is a top-drawer match-up in world boxing, a strikingly significant fight. British viewers who have thus far been unaware of Calzaghe will have the chance to stay up on Saturday night and watch their ???champion??? in action IN A REAL FIGHT. This is certainly not the type of farcical match that many casual boxing viewers have been disappointed by over the years. Both fighters have proven enough to be considered ???quality??? fighters and will be fighting to go beyond that ??? to become ???superstar??? fighters, perhaps ???great??? fighters. With ITV broadcasting to the whole of the UK free of charge, and with The Ring magazine calling it for their vacant championship, everything seems to have fallen in place for Joe Calzaghe at long last. Now all he needs to do is beat Jeff Lacy !

 

[KentDog]

Calzaghe reigns supreme at 168!
By Craig Watt at ringside

WBO super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe (41-0, 31 KOs) has remained the longest reigning champion in boxing and added the IBF title in the process with a very impressive unanimous decision over Jeff Lacy (20-1, 17 KOs) on Saturday night at the MEN Arena in Manchester, England. The quicker Calzaghe had a strong first round landing numerous hard shots, while Lacy landed a few good shots himself. Lacy came out for round two with a bloody nose. Calzaghe continued to connect in round two while dodging Lacy's big bombs. Calzaghe continued to be very accurate in round three while Lacy hit mostly air. Lacy was cut over both the left and right eyes in round four as Calzaghe continued to put on a boxing and punching clinic. Lacy can out strong in round five, but Calzaghe continued to get off first and tattoo Lacy. By the end of the round Calzaghe wasn't even bothering to keep his hands up. Calzaghe's dominance continued in rounds six to eight and Lacy now needed a KO to win. By round nine, Calzaghe was taunting Lacy. Calzaghe was deducted a point in round eleven for holding. Lacy came out looking for the knockout in round twelve, but it was Calzaghe putting Lacy down to punctuate the greatest fight of his career. Scores were 119-105, 119-107, 119-107.

 

[KentDog]

Lacy got dominated.

 

[GFR]

Lacy got dominated.

Did Lacy get KO'd in the 12th or just knocked down??

 

[KentDog]

Just knocked down. I'm surprised Lacy's corner didn't call off the fight in the 11th to avoid further punishment and risk injury/permanant damage since Lacy is still early in his career and wasn't going to get the knockout he needed to win. But maybe that's me kind of hoping he would had gotten TKO'd as I predicted.

 

[topolo]

Lacy got dominated.

totally!!!!

 

[Dale Mabry]

Wait, the honkey won???

 

[GFR]

Just knocked down. I'm surprised Lacy's corner didn't call off the fight in the 11th to avoid further punishment and risk injury/permanant damage since Lacy is still early in his career and wasn't going to get the knockout he needed to win. But maybe that's me kind of hoping he would had gotten TKO'd as I predicted.

I had to go to the airport so I only saw rounds 1-5 and that was sad!!!! Lacy looked just like Tyson when Douglas beat him down........hard to believe these guys will just try to land one big punch, as they get schooled for 12 rounds. The re-play is at 2AM and I will stay up to see the entire fight.......

 

[topolo]

I had to go to the airport so I only saw rounds 1-5 and that was sad!!!! Lacy looked just like Tyson when Douglas beat him down........hard to believe these guys will just try to land one big punch, as they get schooled for 12 rounds. The re-play is at 2AM and I will stay up to see the entire fight.......

good for you