By Mark Vester
According to a recent interview with the Tampa Bay Tribune, former super middleweight champion Jeff Lacy (23-1, 17KOs) is looking for a big 2008, and if a proposed bout with light heavyweight Antonio Tarver falls apart, there are other options, like big puncher Edison Miranda.
A proposed bout with Miranda would have to happen near the final quarter of the year. Miranda (29-2, 25KOs) returns to the ring on January 11 as part of a doubleheader with Jean Pascal. If Miranda and Pascal win their bouts, they will fight each other.
Lacy returned on the undercard to Mayweather-Hatton on Dec. 8 in Las Vegas, winning a decision over Peter Manfredo Jr. It was his first bout in over a year. Lacy was on the shelf after having surgery to repair an injured shoulder. He admits his performance was lackluster because of additional muscle mass.
"Taking the weight off, I felt great," Lacy said. "But in the fight there was a lot of muscle that I was still carrying. My muscles were big instead of being flexible, so that's what you saw in the fight. As the fight went long, I had no body fat, so it really tired me out to the point that when I was throwing punches, everything felt heavy."
For now, Lacy is still slated to face Tarver in the main event of Showtime televised doubleheader on April 12 at the St. Pete Times Forum in Florida. WBC light heavyweight champ Chad Dawson is scheduled for the co-feature against Glenn Johnson. The two winners will fight later in the year at an agreed upon date. Lacy's personal vendetta with his former promoter Gary Shaw, who is putting the card together and still holds an option on Tarver's next fight, may roadblock the chance of Lacy and Tarver squaring off in a battle of Floridian rivals. If the fight falls apart, I'm sure Miranda would be happy to accommodate Lacy.
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