By Ryan Songalia
Photo © Scott Foster/FightWireImages.com
Entering the ring to a hip hop track looped under the tolling of dirges-inspired bells, it was clear that Jeff "Left Hook" Lacy understood that now was the time for him to make his stand. Bearing the burden of a humbling loss in his last trip through the ropes against Joe Calzaghe, he carried the cross of pugilism's difficult to deal with reality to the ring with him Saturday night against virtually unknown Ukrainian Vitali Tsypko.
As Lacy emerged into view in front of his hometown crowd of Tampa, the Mike Tyson similes suddenly made sense. No longer were his trademark snarls playfully concealing a secret smile, they were the scowls of a man so thoroughly humiliated in the company of a rojoicing, partisan crowd broadcast to the entire world for critique and audience. He's had nine months to review the tape, nine months to read the disparaging press, and will have several more months to reflect on his professional downward spiral following his anticlimactic showing against Tyspko. Tsypko, who now stands at 17-2 (10 KO), accepted the bout on only two weeks notice.
The action began as Christmas to Lacy, who was unable to miss the cranially stationary Tsypko, landing at will with the right hand through the first two rounds repetitively, and after about 6 or 7 consecutively, comically. It was all Lacy through the first two rounds, and he appeared to be on his way to an easy knockout victory.
Fighting through a cut eye that was the result of an accidental butt similar to the one that ended their first fight, Tsypko adjusted his attack in the third and fourth rounds from non-existent to serving Lacy a steady diet of straight lefts and right hooks.
As Lacy's offense began to dwindle, he found himself swelling up around the eyes as has occurred in previous fights. The fight was close going down the stretch when Tsypko landed a devastating left right combination late in the eighth and had Lacy ready to go with about 20 seconds left in the round. Lacy recovered well in between rounds and began to take the incoming flack comparitively well after that, but clearly lost the last two rounds. The verdict came back as a one round swing of a majority decision, too close for the man expectations perceived as the future of the super middleweights. Lacy moved to 22-1 (17 KO), but failed to make the statement to the world that was his primary objective; That he was still an entity to be feared.
Perhaps returning on television was not the appropriate manner by which to approach his rehabilitation. The looming doubts and added pressure of returning to the bright lights of mass media may have been a bit more than Lacy could chew at this stage of his rehabilitation. Instead of producing headlines that announced Lacy's rebuilding into a legitimate contender, many are wondering if all the king's horses and all the king's men are up to the task of putting Jeff Lacy back together again.
A disappointing showing on HBO has given creedence to the thoughts that perhaps what happened in Manchester was more than, as Lacy put it, just "a bad day."
It is still too soon to write off the 2000 Olympian, however. He's coming from back to back difficult fights against the same style of opponent, well schooled southpaws proficient with both fists.
After the fight, Lacy complained of discomfort in his left shoulder, and indeed it did seem as though he had some pre-existing issues from the left side that limited his activities to pawing and languid jabs. Lacy had been off for 272 days prior to this bout, his longest layoff as a professional.
The primary question seems to be, did Jeff Lacy simply absorb too much punishment against Joe Calzaghe or have we simply grossly overrated Lacy as a fighter in general? One look at his frame alone would cause some to believe he was the reincarnation of Sonny Liston, yet HBO commentator and elite trainer Emanuel Steward doesn't feel he is the monstrous puncher that many perceived him to be.
Steward referred to Lacy several times during the HBO telecast as merely "a strong puncher", but not possessing one punch lights out clout in his fists. When a big slugger hits someone with his Sunday shot and nothing happens, it tends to have a negative effect on their confidence. And clearly, Lacy saw his power as being something prodigious. So did George Foreman in Zaire.
Truth be told, maybe it was too much too soon for the young Lacy, who only participated in 16 contests before winning the vacant IBF Super Middleweight strap against the limited Syd Vanderpool. Three of four hand picked opponents fell inside the distance, save for the durable Omar Sheika who extended Lacy the full 12 rounds. In the course of the Lacy-Sheika bout, Showtime's Al Bernstein stated that Lacy was a vulnerable champion, which would give him an appeal to fans similar to that of Larry Holmes. Certainly, bulging pectoral muscles do not shade a rose tint over Bernstein's sunglasses.
Overambitious matchmaking has shortened and sabotaged the careers of a fair share of United States Olympians in recent years, including Fernando Vargas and Rocky Juarez.
Adding to the shock of Lacy's recent woes may be the public's poor judgement of Joe Calzaghe's talent, who prior to painting a masterpiece on Lacy was considered over the hill due to stale performances against recent opposition. In the aftermath of the March blitz, many detractors who believed Calzaghe to be a protected local favorite are now beginning to seriously consider the Welshman as a candidate for the International Boxing Hall of Fame. There's an interesting notion to those who can recall the Kabary Salem fight prior to the Lacy showdown.
How Lacy reacts to the negative context he finds himself in will determine how he rebounds from this dark spot in his progression. Lacy needs knockouts, just as a pitbull needs to be fed sparring partner opponents periodically to maintain and cultivate a killer instinct. An adjustment of fighting style may be wishful thinking, but head movement wouldn't do any harm, either. There seems to be many more questions for Lacy to attend to, it's up to Lacy how well he wants to answer them.
Any questions or feedback? Send them to me at mc_rson@yahoo.com