Calzaghe already looking to duck Lacy

By Paul Upham: It appears that the Joe Calzaghe-Jeff Lacy super middleweight showdown on November 5 in the UK could be in trouble after comments made by the WBO champion to the BBC. 32 year-old Calzaghe was quoted in a story at the BBC website regarding the likelihood of the fight with IBF/IBO champion Lacy going ahead, even though he is meant to be fighting an as yet unnamed opponent on September 10 in Cardiff. "Lots of things can also happen between now and then, not least among them injuries," he said. "I have had problems with my hand and back on and off over the years, which is hardly surprising when you have been fighting since the age of nine like I have." SecondsOut brought Calzaghe's statements to the attention of Lacy's promoter Gary Shaw on Friday and the American was far from impressed. "Twenty minutes ago, I would have definitely told you that it is on, as far as I'm concerned, it is done," Shaw told SecondsOut. "I'm wondering now if Calzaghe is trying to get out of the fight? If you have injuries after a fight, why would you be taking a September 10 fight? "This is the defining fight of Calzaghe's career. He wanted the big fight. Well, here it is, with the big 168lbs American world champion holding two belts. You have a chance to unify and have three belts. You have a chance to knock off the star of Showtime television and the USA Olympian. You can tell everybody once and for all that Joe Calzaghe is the greatest." After Lacy's impressive stoppage win over Robin Reid last weekend in the USA, Shaw suspects that maybe Calzaghe is having second thoughts about taking the fight. "Why would he start talking about injuries?" he asked. "Probably because he watched Jeff Lacy in action last Saturday night. Joe has got to say once and for all, 'I want the Lacy fight, no excuses. I'll be there on November 5, wherever it is' as Lacy has said. Let's not start the excuses now. If he is going to pull out, then he should pull out now and say he is not fighting Lacy. Then let the British press and the fans do what they want with him. Don't take a warm up fight and then say the excuse is, 'I hurt my hand'. I respect Joe, but if he doesn't want the fight, he needs to be man enough to say, 'I saw Lacy and I don't want the fight'. Anyone who has a fight of this magnitude on November 5 with everything on the line doesn't take a fight on September 10." Shaw says that Lacy 20- (16) wants the fight with Calzaghe 39-0 (31) so he can prove to the fans who is the true super middleweight champion of the world. "When we spoke about Joe, we said he was No.1," he said. "We said he was the gate keeper to 168lbs and that everything would be on the line in this fight. We were willing to come to England, not asking Joe to come here to the USA." While Calzaghe told the BBC he wants the fight, he suggested the issue of how much money he would be paid was not resolved and could interfere with the fight going ahead. "Don't get me wrong, the Lacy fight will go ahead," he was quoted. "He wants it and I want it and the prospect really excites me, but I haven't even talked money yet so nothing is cut and dried." Since reading Calzaghe's quotes, Shaw, who thought he had a deal in place with promoter Frank Warren, has been trying to contact the head of the Sports Network in England. "I have called and sent three emails," he said. "Jay Larkin (Showtime Vice-President) said he has been trying to reach Frank Warren today. Everybody wants to know what's happening. Is the fight on or is it off?" 28 year-old Lacy went to Manchester in June with Shaw to meet the British press with Calzaghe to publicise the fight. While some people told Shaw that the unbeaten southpaw had a history of pulling out of fights, the American promoter was never concerned the unification clash would not go ahead after hearing the Welshman say he wanted the fight in person. "I stuck up for him," said Shaw. "I said Joe is a great champion. We went to Manchester to pay him the respect and he said at a luncheon with Lacy sitting there, 'I want the fight'. So I'm going to give him the respect and I'm going to give Frank Warren the respect. Then hopefully, we are going to get the fight done. But if he doesn't and he pulls out on us, he'll never fight Jeff Lacy again. Forever he will be known as the guy who ducked the big fight." Wow this doesn't look good calzaghe already ducked out on glen jhonson twice and never fought ottke. I really hope joe gets it together cancels this sept fight and focus's on Lacy

Comments (20)

Calzaghe saw lacy and knew it was easy money, he said many times in the run up to that fight that lacy was made for him

16y ago

BrightEyes

According to frank Warren,Calzaghe had pulled out of a the fight twice already and had tried to pull out for a third time just two weeks before the fight. i could beat jeff lacey, lets not get carried away. I don't understand all this animosity towards Lacy.He obviously wasn't as good as he was hyped up to be,but he was still good.

16y ago

SplitSecond

the guys got more balls than you have kid doubt it, i heard his father took them back right after kessler

16y ago

The_Demon

you can thank his father for lending him his balls the guys got more balls than you have kid

16y ago

SplitSecond

Lol calzaghe didnt do a very good job of ducking him you can thank his father for lending him his balls

16y ago

oaklandstephen

i could beat jeff lacey, lets not get carried away.

16y ago

The_Demon

obviously the thread was made, calzaghe was looking to duck lacy Lol calzaghe didnt do a very good job of ducking him

16y ago

JR3417

Bet thread starter feels like a cnut

16y ago

Crazylegs77

Calzaghe was clearly on steroids in that fight. :banana:

16y ago

SplitSecond

Everybody seems to be bumping old threads so i thought id pull this little gem up,its fukkin hilarious obviously the thread was made, calzaghe was looking to duck lacy

16y ago

The_Demon

Everybody seems to be bumping old threads so i thought id pull this little gem up,its fukkin hilarious

16y ago

_Evil_

Vanderpool was supposed to be a big test for him & alot of people thought was wasn't ready to fight him & he won. Reid was supposed to be his most formidable challenge up to date & he destroyed Reid like no one else was able to. Calphony is not as good as you think he is. His choise of opponents & the hype that around him have made him better than he really is. Vanderpool wasnt at the same level as Lacy and Reid hasnt been good for a long time, they were both well picked opponents. But like i said, there's nothing wrong with picking opponents early in a career, but i dont think Lacy has proven his hype yet. I like Lacy, he has balls but he just hasnt proved his real ability yet, plus IMO he carries too much muscle. Calzaghe has been fighting average fighters for a while now, but i dont see a dip in his physical ability. Calzaghe should be able to turn it up agaisnt Lacy and if he's still got it he'll win. I dont overate Calzaghe, i hardly even like him but i respect his desire to win. He also has underated power and speed.

20y ago

Knicksman20

Be serious, Lacy hasnt fought a fighter who was expected to test him and he's defended his belt enough times, he only now willing to step up. But thats good enough for me but its not worth sucking his dick for, like some fans do. Vanderpool was supposed to be a big test for him & alot of people thought was wasn't ready to fight him & he won. Reid was supposed to be his most formidable challenge up to date & he destroyed Reid like no one else was able to. Calphony is not as good as you think he is. His choise of opponents & the hype that around him have made him better than he really is.

20y ago

elveiel

First of all stop using multiple punctuation marks to end a sentence unless it's three periods, or a question mark/exclamation mark combo, please. Secondly, it's not the money issue, it's not the date issue (When I heard Nov. 5, I was like, "Wtf? Why are they setting it up a month after he fights the other guy? What if he gets roughed up?), it's the fact that he says, "I might get hurt." That's what gets me, at any rate. I mean, getting injured shouldn't be in this man's train of thought. People are blowing this out of proportion, I agree, but the money situation will be taken care of, and we all know he won't get more money fighting someone other than Lacy in this division, and probably not above, because Tarver is taken already, and, honestly, does anyone care about Glen anymore? So, what options does he have? He'll get decent to good money with Lacy, and that's that, there's no one else for him. Should he go up, he'll forever be a ducker, same should he go down (which would be a huge pussy move on his part, because he's fought at super for the majority of his career, if not all of it). So that leaves us with one thing, which is the date, which should be negotiable on both ends, but sometime by the end of this year, beginning of next: i.e. November '05 - February '06. So, really, that's my problem with his statements. It just seems so convenient that he might get injured. That's such bullshit to be saying. Maybe it's different across the pond, but here, you don't think about injuries as a possibility. If it happens, then you talk about it, but if nothing has happened yet, it's not a possibility. A couple more things: 1: Because we don't care, and Wales is in the same general area, we will refer to Wales as England, whether or not it's really England, because by England we really mean the UK. 2: This is sort of a convenience on Lacy's behalf, as well, because should Joe pull out here, well, they tried to get the fight with him, but he ducked, so fuck him. It's a bit silly to start talking about this all so prematurely. But, I don't think Lacy will be ducking Joe, he wants to make a name for himself, and prove he's the best of the division. To nitpick at his resume is really stupid, because he's only had 21 fights, and he only recently gained the IBF belt. He made his mandatory against Williams, and now he fought Reid, so that's not too bad at all. Calzaghe, on the other hand, has fought a long list of nothing fighters, and has plenty to be nitpicked at, especially for being "the man" at 168. Lacy isn't considered the man yet. Us Americans think he'll win, but we all know that Calzaghe is the top dog of the division right now, if nothing else, for his tenure as the WBO champ. Who cares about how many punctuation i use, its like being in English lesson with you sometimes. I think money and location are important, Lacys people call out a date and expect it to be OK, but there are obvious problems if they cant get a location big enough to pay the purses. I know what you mean when you say "who else could he fight", but fighters like extra when they take risky challenges, its just normal wanting extra for harder work. I'm sure this can be sorted anyway. I havent a clue why Calzaghe mentioned injury, i suppose you might think about it if its a common problem after a fight(the same way Mayweather talks about his hands) but its stupid to say it. He need to practice his interviews abit more.

20y ago

elveiel

Lacy & protected don't belong in the same sentence and that's probably one of the most ridiculous things I've heard anyone say about him. If he was protected Lacy wouldn't have been fighting for a major title in 15 or 16 professional fights. His level of competition has been solid considering he's in a weak division. Lacy has been stepping up & destroying all comers who want his title. Lacy wants this fight & has been calling out Calphony for a while. If this fight falls through we all know it'll be on Calphony because as was said ; he'll be fighting in JC's backyard & for not alot of money. He's always said that he'd go to England to fight him because he knows more than money would be at stake. Be serious, Lacy hasnt fought a fighter who was expected to test him and he's defended his belt enough times, he only now willing to step up. But thats good enough for me but its not worth sucking his dick for, like some fans do.

20y ago

elveiel

Ill respond to myself since you won't. They NEVER HAVE DUCKED Calzaghe. When you ask for more money than your worth its ducking a fighter, Hopkins and Tarver were asking for more money than the fight would generate. I think fighter should get more money for fighting a good opponent but they must be overating Calzaghe ask for silly money.

20y ago

Riptor

Boy oh Boy Joesephine Calfaggy Ducking a fighter, hiding and being a protected and padded fighter, and wasting away his career. We would have never thought that he would do such a thing.

20y ago

theironone

1: Because we don't care, and Wales is in the same general area, we will refer to Wales as England, whether or not it's really England, because by England we really mean the UK. Why does that not surprise me coming from you boy

20y ago

RAESAAD

he is scuuuuurrrrrdddd

20y ago

Knicksman20

Lacy is moving at a decent pace but he holds a genuine world title, he's not facing the type of fighters that warrant being a genuine world champion so he IS PROTECTED!! Joe Calzaghe is fighting poor opponents too(last couple of years), i'm not saying otherwise, its time for them both to step up. Lacy & protected don't belong in the same sentence and that's probably one of the most ridiculous things I've heard anyone say about him. If he was protected Lacy wouldn't have been fighting for a major title in 15 or 16 professional fights. His level of competition has been solid considering he's in a weak division. Lacy has been stepping up & destroying all comers who want his title. Lacy wants this fight & has been calling out Calphony for a while. If this fight falls through we all know it'll be on Calphony because as was said ; he'll be fighting in JC's backyard & for not alot of money. He's always said that he'd go to England to fight him because he knows more than money would be at stake.

20y ago