By Richard McManus

Joe Calzaghe out thought, out planned and out worked his younger and less experienced foe on Saturday night in their 168-pound unification bout.  Calzaghe moved to 41-0, 31 KO and Lacy falls to 21-1, 17KO.  Calzaghe is now the owner of the WBO, IBO and IBF 168-pound belts.    

The American boxing public, the majority of the internet boxing scribes and the hardcore fight fan’s on message boards all over cyberspace did exactly the same thing that Jeff Lacy did: They took Calzaghe lightly.  They took the fight for granted.  They took the outcome for granted. 

Lacy said it himself in his post fight interview with Showtime ringside reporter Jim Gray.  He said he thought he could just show up and knock out Calzaghe.  Lacy has exceptional power but was unable to unleash his arsenal because he didn’t use his jab and he didn’t try to establish any sort of body attack.

Calzaghe fought the first minute of the first round with the same passion and desire that he fought the last minute of round 12 when he finished like a champion, going for the knockout and almost getting it.  Throughout the fight, Calzaghe peppered Lacy with four and five punch combinations, hooks and uppercuts and an underrated body attack.  He worked off the ropes like a confident champion and never let Lacy get into a rhythm.  

Lacy did his best work in rounds 5 and 6 where he was able to land his hooks on several occasions but it was always just one punch at a time with no jab to set up anything meaningful.   

Seemingly it was Lacy’s disrespect for Calzaghe that ultimately was his downfall.  In many of his previous bouts the outcome was always predetermined.  Lacy’s fights were always more of a showcase of his skills and power and his opponents were there to lose and get knocked out while doing it.

Up until this fight, Lacy had had very few high profile fights although he has been featured on televised cards for almost his entire professional career.  He didn’t have very much big time experience to draw from and unfortunately for him did not react particularly well to the adversity he faced against Calzaghe. 

The lessons he surely will take from this fight will certainly make him a better pro and a better champion should he be fortunate enough to regain a title sometime in the future. 

Calzaghe on the other hand has been in every kind of fight for several years against a variety of opponents and styles.  He had volumes of boxing experience to draw upon and that alone is what gave him a decided edge in the fight.

Both fighters were classy in their post-fight interviews.  Especially of note were Lacy’s post-fight comments where he offered no excuses for his performance and gave all credit to Calzaghe for fighting a great fight.  He did though deny that Calzaghe’s performance could be considered a “clinic” but later admitted that he will learn from the fight and claimed that he would be back, which he undoubtedly will.    

So, this fight probably could be considered a “clinic”.  A boxing “clinic” put on by Joe Calzaghe, which, although it may not seem like it now, will prove beneficial for Lacy’s future career prospects. 

So what’s next for Joe Calzaghe?  How about the winner of the Antonio Tarver – Bernard Hopkins fight should it actually happen.  Joe has reached the point in his career where he doesn’t have a whole lot left to prove so a mega-fight with one of those guys could prove to be very lucrative.   

How about Lacy?  Well, some time off is in order and if he chooses to keep boxing - he will no doubt put the lessons from the Calzaghe fight to work and if he can put things back together he still has plenty of time to become a great champ.