Several media outlets in the UK are reporting that Joe Calzaghe is looking for a unification bout against recently crowned IBF champion Jeff Lacy. Frank Warren is going to make a substantial cash offer to Gary Shaw, the promoter of Jeff Lacy in order to make the fight.
Should the fight come off, it would be the biggest fight at the super middleweight division in the last few years.
Who wins if this comes off? I think it would be a very good fight! :eek:
Lacy's rematching Vitali Tsypko on December 4. Lacy dominated the first 2 rounds in the first fight before a head butt made this one a no-contest. After Lacy wins, which he ought to, his next fight should be against Calzaghe, assuming Joe wins his next bout.
I had never heard this. Interesting.
I have heard it before, reading this reminded me.
http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0700sports/1200sportsroundup/tm_objectid=14731723%26method=full%26siteid=50082%26headline=warren--calzaghe-simply-the-best-name_page.html
I think it will be an awesome fight as Lacy is very very hungry. Joe Calzaghe is unbeaten but has been fighting a few bums recently. I know Lacy definatly has the power to hurt Joe and Joe has the power to hurt Lacy. This should be a real slugfest at points. If it happens i don't know who to pick. My heart says Joe but my mind is telling me Lacy. :D
My heart says Joe, My mind says 50/50!!
I'm not sure about the edge in power, i really cant tell. Eubank said that Joe's the hardest puncher he's been in with and he's fought at cruiser, so even if Tarver does have better power it wont make that much difference.
I had never heard this. Interesting.
Several media outlets in the UK are reporting that Joe Calzaghe is looking for a unification bout against recently crowned IBF champion Jeff Lacy. Frank Warren is going to make a substantial cash offer to Gary Shaw, the promoter of Jeff Lacy in order to make the fight.
Should the fight come off, it would be the biggest fight at the super middleweight division in the last few years.
Who wins if this comes off? I think it would be a very good fight! :eek:
I think it will be an awesome fight as Lacy is very very hungry. Joe Calzaghe is unbeaten but has been fighting a few bums recently. I know Lacy definatly has the power to hurt Joe and Joe has the power to hurt Lacy. This should be a real slugfest at points. If it happens i don't know who to pick. My heart says Joe but my mind is telling me Lacy. :D
Ha. Yes, I totally agree about the young blood at supermiddle.
Good points about Calzaghe's heigh and weight, too. I think you're right, I would give it to Calzaghge because of his workrate, but I have a problem with Tarver's age. I mean, yes, you're correct, Tarver is 35, but he's a young 35. He's been pro only as long as guys like Floyd Mayweather have. I mean, he's still pretty fresh. Also, I think Tarver would have the edge in power. Especially when it comes to one punch knockouts. But still, I give it to you, Calzaghe punches too much, too fast, and even too hard for Tarver.
And I agreed with you about Johnson all along. I mean, I love Johnson, and it would be really great to see him cap off his Cinderella story by beating Tarver, but I don't know how likely that is. If they do get together, Calzaghe ought to go for the winner.
Tarver has been living it up since the Jones KO, i understand you about the young 35 statement but partys and 35 year old world champions dont mix!!
I'm not sure about the edge in power, i really cant tell. Eubank said that Joe's the hardest puncher he's been in with and he's fought at cruiser, so even if Tarver does have better power it wont make that much difference.
Calzaghe is still fresh at the moment, when he hits 35 himself its definitly time to retire, Joe relys too much of his physical game and would run the risk of getting a serious beat down.
Joe is a tall, hard punching southpaw! :) I dont think the move up in weight will effect the outcome either because Calzaghe really struggles to make super middle.
I cant see how Joe would struggle against Tarver, i'm not saying he's a bad fighter but Calzaghe's workrate, speed and power would be too much for him(he's getting old). i'd give Tarver a punchers chance.
Johnson is the same having seen him in with woods and jones recently i think he's an easy nights work for Calzaghe.
Lacy and Green are fresh, have some speed, hungry and can punch very hard. can you see why i think they would give Calzaghe more trouble?
Ha. Yes, I totally agree about the young blood at supermiddle.
Good points about Calzaghe's heigh and weight, too. I think you're right, I would give it to Calzaghge because of his workrate, but I have a problem with Tarver's age. I mean, yes, you're correct, Tarver is 35, but he's a young 35. He's been pro only as long as guys like Floyd Mayweather have. I mean, he's still pretty fresh. Also, I think Tarver would have the edge in power. Especially when it comes to one punch knockouts. But still, I give it to you, Calzaghe punches too much, too fast, and even too hard for Tarver.
And I agreed with you about Johnson all along. I mean, I love Johnson, and it would be really great to see him cap off his Cinderella story by beating Tarver, but I don't know how likely that is. If they do get together, Calzaghe ought to go for the winner.
Well...I wasn't going to. Everything you said about super middle is great, and I fully understand what was going on now, but I'm curious to know why you think Joe would beat Tarver. I mean, I've never seen Calzaghe in against a tall, hard-punching southpaw, but I had just sort of assumed that Joe, with his less than stellar defense and pressuring style would be at a disadvantage against a counterpuncher like Tarver. Now, if Tarver were nothing but a slick boxer, I'd give the edge to someone who throws punches the way Joe does, but with Tarver's considerable pop, I'm just not sure. Just so we're clear, though, I hate Tarver. I mean, I loathe him. He sickens me. And has anyone else noticed he shaves his eyebrows?
Joe is a tall, hard punching southpaw! :) I dont think the move up in weight will effect the outcome either because Calzaghe really struggles to make super middle.
I cant see how Joe would struggle against Tarver, i'm not saying he's a bad fighter but Calzaghe's workrate, speed and power would be too much for him(he's getting old). i'd give Tarver a punchers chance.
Johnson is the same having seen him in with woods and jones recently i think he's an easy nights work for Calzaghe.
Lacy and Green are fresh, have some speed, hungry and can punch very hard. can you see why i think they would give Calzaghe more trouble?
Well we can agree to differ! :p Its only slight difference in power and speed but we can both agree Calzaghe is faster and Lacy has harder single shots. I think when the combo's land they are both KO punchers, Joe throw shorts, fast, sharp Combo's(look like slaps sometimes :D ) and Lacy throws a good range of heavy punches which are definitly quick enough.
The reason i made the strength points are because it was said Calzaghe is weaker than Lacy, this is incorrect because they are both strong fighters(in slighty different ways).
Its a risky fight for both of them, its more risky for Joe because defeat would half fininsh his career. I'd personally like to see him step up to light heavy because i think he'd beat Tarver and Johnson easier than Green and Lacy, he would also get a greater reward.
dont tell me your going to disagree again :D
Well...I wasn't going to. Everything you said about super middle is great, and I fully understand what was going on now, but I'm curious to know why you think Joe would beat Tarver. I mean, I've never seen Calzaghe in against a tall, hard-punching southpaw, but I had just sort of assumed that Joe, with his less than stellar defense and pressuring style would be at a disadvantage against a counterpuncher like Tarver. Now, if Tarver were nothing but a slick boxer, I'd give the edge to someone who throws punches the way Joe does, but with Tarver's considerable pop, I'm just not sure. Just so we're clear, though, I hate Tarver. I mean, I loathe him. He sickens me. And has anyone else noticed he shaves his eyebrows?
That's a damn good reply. I'd still disagree with you, though. Once Lacy gets going, his combos are fast punches in bunches. Still, I agree Joe is definitely faster. I've seen Lacy in clinches before, and I would generally disagree with you, Lacy's good in a tight clinch, although I do see what you mean. In his last fight, Syd had a good amount of leverage on him and frequently spun him. Lacy has good, thick, pile driving legs. Like I said, though, this is a great post. Really well argued.
Well we can agree to differ! :p Its only slight difference in power and speed but we can both agree Calzaghe is faster and Lacy has harder single shots. I think when the combo's land they are both KO punchers, Joe throw shorts, fast, sharp Combo's(look like slaps sometimes :D ) and Lacy throws a good range of heavy punches which are definitly quick enough.
The reason i made the strength points are because it was said Calzaghe is weaker than Lacy, this is incorrect because they are both strong fighters(in slighty different ways).
Its a risky fight for both of them, its more risky for Joe because defeat would half fininsh his career. I'd personally like to see him step up to light heavy because i think he'd beat Tarver and Johnson easier than Green and Lacy, he would also get a greater reward.
dont tell me your going to disagree again :D
That's a damn good reply. I'd still disagree with you, though. Once Lacy gets going, his combos are fast punches in bunches. Still, I agree Joe is definitely faster. I've seen Lacy in clinches before, and I would generally disagree with you, Lacy's good in a tight clinch, although I do see what you mean. In his last fight, Syd had a good amount of leverage on him and frequently spun him. Lacy has good, thick, pile driving legs. Like I said, though, this is a great post. Really well argued.
This is a good post, and you're right on, except for the part where you say that Lacy is slow, and the reason is because he works on his power. Would you say Mike Tyson was slow because he worked on his power? No, I'm not saying Lacy's as powerful and fast as Tyson was, but my point is that power and speed go hand in hand. To say that you can't have one in order to have the other is silly. They're not mutually exclusive. Oh, and Lacy's no bodybuilder. He's cut the same way Holyfield is. Now I know you're not going to say that Holyfield wasn't as strong as he looked.
I'm not saying Lacy is slow, by me saying he's a little slow i mean he could be faster. he throws power shots with a lot of body weight behind them which makes him look a little predictable because a good fighter will see them coming.
To me there are different types of punchers.
1)lights out speed = Cotto
2)speed and power = Tyson
3)Heavy, solid shots = Lacy
you obviously need speed to get power but Lacys shots are more to do with the weight he puts behind them.
Every fighter who needs to make weight has the same problem, if you gain weight in one place your going to need too lose it somewhere else, my point is that Lacy may have big arms but were has he lost weight to allow that?? he doesnt look that strong on the inside and a bit top heavy so i cant see him being able to out muscle a very strong fighter like Calzaghe.
He's a bit like big wlad klitchko, he's a big puncher, too top heavy and weak in the clinch, always a risk of going down because he has matchsticks for legs :D Lacy obviously isnt as bad a wlad for balance, chin etc, but muscle mass doesnt = strength in boxing.
I'd say Lacy has harder single shot than Calzaghe, Calzaghe can punch but Lacy obviously works a lot more on power(thats why he's a little slow)
This is a good post, and you're right on, except for the part where you say that Lacy is slow, and the reason is because he works on his power. Would you say Mike Tyson was slow because he worked on his power? No, I'm not saying Lacy's as powerful and fast as Tyson was, but my point is that power and speed go hand in hand. To say that you can't have one in order to have the other is silly. They're not mutually exclusive. Oh, and Lacy's no bodybuilder. He's cut the same way Holyfield is. Now I know you're not going to say that Holyfield wasn't as strong as he looked.
Everybody on this thread has made some damn good points. I just wanna see this fight happen and be able to watch it. This would definitely be a good one. If Joe came out of this one with a win he would get much respect. The same thing goes for Lacy.
Lacy would kill him, he's bigger, stronger, faster and hits 10x harder
They both struggle to make super middle weight and probably weight the same on fight night, even if one is slighty bigger it wont matter.
I'd bet Calzaghe will be the one with the strength on fight night, he looks more trim than Lacy but bigs arm dont mean shit!! General strength is a major asset for Calzaghe and i know from personal experience its easy to out muscle a bodybuilder with silly pumped up muscles, infact big muscles are a disadvantage if your too top heavy!
Calzaghe is so much faster than Lacy its not even up for debate, it just silly to say Lacy is faster!!
I'd say Lacy has harder single shot than Calzaghe, Calzaghe can punch but Lacy obviously works a lot more on power(thats why he's a little slow)
Thw only way this fight makes either money is in UK. !68 is a dead division here. Blonde is wrong, Joe Can sell out stadiums in Wales and Jeff couldnt sell out a YMCA YET!!. He woould be smart to go over the pond and try and unify. Good fight if it happens I'll give Lacy the slight edge on this due to his power and Youth. Wouldnt bet on it though! :D
No he wont get more. Warren will try and Dog Lacy like he did Harris.
:D No doubt Warren will try it but he'd have to relent.
Lacy is generally recognised as a very good fighter, Is a legit Champ, beat a good fighter for the title, and the UK has seen him before, so even though alot of people would go to see joe try to get the win, alot of people (like myself) would go to see a quality match up between two of the top 3/4 fighters in the division.
Warren can only BS his way past the casual fans but not the one's in the know, Calzaghes needs names, and Lacy is a good name to fight, and Lacy won't be short changed (unless he's a fool) so if the fight didn't happen over money and lacy was being reasonable then Warren would turn even more fans off.
American fighters dont have to go to Europe. This is where the money is and where the best fighters in the world fight.
True...most of the time, you must agree though Calzaghe vs Lacy over here would totally fill out a number of big arena's and be better financially for both fighters, cos it's more bums on seats and of course Lacy would get that bit more for willing to travel
No he wont get more. Warren will try and Dog Lacy like he did Harris.
American fighters dont have to go to Europe. This is where the money is and where the best fighters in the world fight.
True...most of the time, you must agree though Calzaghe vs Lacy over here would totally fill out a number of big arena's and be better financially for both fighters, cos it's more bums on seats and of course Lacy would get that bit more for willing to travel
21y ago
Lacy Being called out!!! Hope this fight happens. | BoxingScene Community