By Cliff Rold (photo by Will Hart/HBO)

Riddick Bowe-Ray Mercer, even with a pile of personal venom, never happened.  Fernando Vargas-David Reid made magazine covers but never a ring.  Oscar De La Hoya-Vernon Forrest?  Not yet and probably never.

Boxing did get Evander Holyfield-Henry Tillman in a Cruiserweight title fight.

In other words, showdowns between former Olympic teammates don’t happen all too often in Boxing.  Prior to this weekend, the most notable showdowns between men who shared the ultimate amateur journey together might have been two Light Heavyweight title bouts between 1984 Medalists Frank Tate and Virgil Hill.  This weekend’s bout doesn’t have the title stakes of any of those but the stakes are high nonetheless. 

30-year old former World Middleweight champion Jermain Taylor (27-2-1, 17 KO) and 31-year old former IBF Super Middleweight Jeff Lacy have both borne the weight of expectation and know what it’s like to fall short.  Taylor never got full credit for his wins over Bernard Hopkins or draw with Winky Wright, earning more respect in gutsy defeats to current 160 lb. king Kelly Pavlik.

Lacy?  The jury is still out on whether or not he’s ever recovered from two calamitous events.  The first came in the form of a vicious beating at the hands of Joe Calzaghe; the second in the form of a horrid shoulder injury in a rematch victory over Vitali Tsypko.  Bounce back fights against Peter Manfredo and Epifanio Mendoza have given the world a Lacy who looks frayed at the edges, closer to his end than a rebirth.

While no titles are on the line, a title shot is.  The winner will be the WBC mandatory to the winner of December’s Carl Froch-Jean Pascal showdown.  More important, they’ll be in line with any bog money that emerges, and it will, in a packed field of Middle and Super Middleweights which beyond Pavlik includes Felix Sturm, Arthur Abraham, Librado Andrade, Allan Green, Lucien Bute, and Mikkel Kessler.

Given recent setbacks, either Lacy or Taylor is about to be punched to the back of the line.  Which one will that be?

Let’s go to the report card.

Speed:   Taylor gets off faster than Lacy; Lacy throws shorter shots inside.  Inside the ring, that means Taylor’s once outstanding jab, a punch he used to less affect as his quality of competition increased, needs a dramatic return.  It was there against Pavlik in the rematch, but not enough.  Taylor has to establish it early, forcing Lacy to lunge and sweep his hooks.  If he gets inside the jab, the short straight right hand from Lacy can catch Taylor both quickly and painfully.  Also a plus to Lacy’s side, Taylor remains robotic after all these years, all stiff feet and deliberate motion.  However, even as awkward as Taylor can be, on a good day it can allow him to settle into his own unique rhythm.  Lacy’s short left jab aimed at Taylor’s chest can disrupt him.  Pre-Fight Grades: Taylor B+; Lacy B

Power:   Both men can get guys out of there but it’s been awhile since they’ve shown it.  The only knockout in either a Lacy or Taylor since 2005 happened to, instead of for, Taylor.  Expect that to change for one of them this weekend.  It’s just hard to imagine this going to the final bell.  So whose power has the edge?  Of the two, Taylor’s quickness advantage could be telling as his right hand may be better than Lacy’s vaunted left hook.  However, Lacy has the heavier hands over the course of a bout and if he gets into any sort of rhythm could land the sort of combinations to the body and head which put Taylor in real trouble.  Lacy also has an underrated right hand.  Pre-Fight Grades: Taylor & Lacy B+

Defense: One of the things that has gotten both Lacy and Taylor in trouble is that stunted development early in their careers has meant they are both too easy to hit when they need to be at their best.  Of the two, Lacy has always been easier to tag and suffered for it against Epifanio Mendoza earlier this year.  Against Taylor, with both height and reach deficits, he can’t afford an existing bad habit of dropping his head on the way in.  He needs to keep his target in sight.  Taylor has effective movement, both foot and head, and rolls with shots okay.  His key will be to keep the fight at mid-ring; against the ropes, Lacy would do real damage.  Pre-Fight Grades: Taylor B; Lacy C+

Intangibles: The look on Taylor’s face after he lost the rematch decision to said one of two things.  Either Taylor suffered an emotional setback which he’ll carry with him for a long time, or he suffered the sort of setback that brings out the best in a fighter.  That he stepped right back in only months removed from a stoppage loss, changed tactics, and almost pulled it out said a lot about the inner desire of Taylor.  Lacy’s heart can’t be overstated.  He never stops fighting even when others might.  Against Calzaghe, his heart caught him more of a beating than he needed but consider the guts he showed to fight on against Tsypko.  What isn’t known yet is, in a fight where it can go either way, does either of them have an extra gear when faced with adversity?  So far, they’ve won or lost in a straight line.  Pre-Fight Grades: Taylor & Lacy B

The Pick:   This is a tough one.  Lacy and Taylor both have flaws and qualities which make this fight tough to pick.  Of the two, Taylor is better in areas which matter, particularly speed and size.  Factor in the two Pavlik fights and the struggle Lacy endured with Mendoza and it’s hard to imagine Taylor dropping three in a row.  Hard, but not impossible.  Prior to Lacy signing to fight Calzaghe, some around him were vocally wary of a fight with the Welshman but considered this weekend’s foe Taylor-made.  In a mild upset, that should still be the case.  Taylor has none of the fluidity Calzaghe has and, of the two Olympians, Lacy is a little more natural athlete.  It could easily go the other way and is a pick ‘em fight but pushed the selection is Lacy on a late stoppage.

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com