By Frank Lotierzo

Jeff Lacy was the first U.S. Olympian from the 2000 Summer Games to capture a world title as a pro in November of 2004. In what was just his 17th bout, he stopped Syd Vanderpool in the eighth round after a slow start to win the vacant IBF Super middleweight title.

Before stopping Vanderpool, Lacy had his twice beaten southpaw foe in trouble during the sixth round and appeared to have him out on his feet in the seventh. Prior to defending against Reid, Lacy defended his title twice. The first time, he won a unanimous decision over the durable Omar Sheika and stopped the once beaten Rubin Williams on the second occasion.  

Lacy used brute power to stop Robin Reid, a fighter who had never tasted the canvas prior to the fight. In the fifth round alone, Reid tasted the floor on two occasions. There was a heavy amount of fouling by both fighters, but Reid was the only fighter penalized for intentionally head butting Lacy. In the sixth round, Lacy went back to work and threw power shots to the head of Reid to drop him two more times. The vicious uppercuts by Lacy were the difference in the fight as Reid was unable to get away from the punches.

Early in the fight, Reid was getting off well with the jab, but once Lacy cut off the ring, he was able to land his power shots at an alarming rate. After the seventh round, the Reid's corner had seen enough and elected to stop the fight rather then let Reid take any more punishment.

For Lacy, there was a lot of pressure to win this fight. It's well known in boxing circles that the most anticipated fight in the Super middleweight division is between Lacy and WBO Super middleweight champ Joe Calzaghe (39-0).

Calzaghe (39-0) has held the WBO title since taking it from Chris Eubank in October of 1997. With Jermain Taylor's upset of Bernard Hopkins last month, Calzaghe is now boxing's longest reigning champion.

Calzaghe is scheduled to fight next month in Cardiff Wales. It's assumed that if Calzaghe wins, he will meet Lacy later this year in a battle of undefeated Super middleweight champions. Many boxing observers view a Lacy-Calzaghe showdown as the biggest fight in the Super middleweight division since another battle of unbeatens almost 11 years ago — when Roy Jones won a lopsided decision over James Toney to capture the IBF title.

Lacy has all the tools in his arsenal necessary to be a fan favorite. His swarming style enables him to apply unrelenting pressure on his opponents, leading to his fights always being exciting and action packed. Add to that, he throws a lot of punches and has a terrific right uppercut that he uses as a set up punch for his dynamite left hook. At 5-foot-9, Lacy lacks some of the height and reach that other top super middleweights have, but he uses it to his advantage by getting inside where he can use his tremendous strength to outmuscle opponents.

For the 28-year-old Lacy, who hasn't yet reached his prime, the biggest problem he may face is the division in which he fights. The junior divisions in boxing never garner the same attention that the others do. The title reign of Joe Calzaghe is a perfect example. He has yet to have a signature or career defining fight and is really only known by hard core fight fans. On top of that, he was never able to induce a fight with the two reigning world champs in the weight division below him, (Bernard Hopkins) and the division above him (Roy Jones). This is the reason why a fight between Calzaghe and Lacy could turn out to be huge for the winner.

The WBO champ has had trouble making the super middleweight limit of 168 pounds. He was hoping to land a bout with the winner of the Antonio Tarver-Glen Johnson light heavyweight title bout this past June. Only Tarver was more interested in fighting Bernard Hopkins (had he won his fight with Jermain Taylor). With Taylor's win over Hopkins and next weeks press conference to officially announce the rubber match between Antonio Tarver and Roy Jones, Calzaghe's move up to light heavyweight will be delayed, leaving plenty of time for Calzaghe and Lacy to fight before year's end.

With Calzaghe, 32-years-old, holding his title close to eight years, a win over Lacy would vault him into being thought of as one of boxing's star fighters and champions — not to mention steal some of the attention and thunder away from his Olympic teammate, middleweight champ Jermain Taylor.

Calzaghe, being an undefeated southpaw who holds a disputed decision over Robin Reid, would add to the overall hype and anticipation of the fight. He recently said that he has two goals left in boxing that he wants to attain before he retires. One is to unify the super middleweight title. However, he believes Lacy is the best of the champs and a win over him would satisfy his quest. The other goal is to move up to light heavyweight division and capture the title to become a two division champion.

Lacy realizes that beating a champ who has held the title for eight years, and has gone 17-0 in title fights, would clearly make him the fighter to beat at 168 pounds. Right now, that distinction belongs to Calzaghe.