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John Rawling
Friday March 3, 2006
The Guardian
If body language counts for anything at pre-fight press conferences, the dour demeanour of the normally affable Jeff Lacy, when he faced the media alongside Joe Calzaghe in a Manchester hotel yesterday, suggests he is feeling the pressure before their world super-middleweight title unification fight at the MEN Arena in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Lacy, 28, the International Boxing Federation champion, had earlier refused to appear with Calzaghe on the set of Coronation Street for a series of publicity shots to be shown on last night's ITV News and in selected newspapers. He was then close to monosyllabic in his response to questions after his rotund promoter Gary Shaw described him as a cross between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, and perhaps ungenuinely as "the most exciting boxer in the world" (taking a leaf out of Bob Arum's book from when Arum called Nigel Benn "the most exciting boxer in the world" in 1990, and Benn genuinely was).
By contrast Calzaghe, 33, who is now quoted as an 11-10 outsider by the bookmakers for the division's biggest fight since Gerald McClellan fought Nigel Benn 11 years ago, seemed relaxed and showed a confidence befitting a man who has been the World Boxing Organisation champion since 1997 and is about to figure in his 19th world title contest.
"This is a cracking fight, a great fight. It's 50-50 and the fans benefit from that," said the promoter Frank Warren who, for once, has little reason to hype up the contest to provoke ticket sales due to Calzaghe's legion of Welsh fans getting behind their man for the biggest fight of his career. The MEN Arena is already assured of being filled close to its 20,000 capacity, and a lot of Welshmen have already made the long trip up to Manchester and are staying in hotels around the city. "This is the chance Joe has been waiting for, to do what he has dreamed about for a long time: to unify the titles," added Warren.
Lacy's trainer Dan Birmingham said his fighter had shown a new level of dedication in his preparations, and the loquacious Shaw said Lacy was "a fighter who lights up boxing". But Lacy restricted himself to a "we'll see in the ring on Saturday" style of publicity which has proved a frustration to would-be interviewers since he arrived in Britain last week.
The American, who is undefeated in 21 fights, was at least lucid when asked about the effect of Calzaghe's huge level of support. "It doesn't worry me. I've always been the underdog," he said. "I like this event and that's why I've come here."
Calzaghe's father and trainer Enzo, a diminutive man who never suppresses the opportunity to spill out a thousand words or so when assessing his son's chances, says he spotted a ***** in Lacy's psychological armour when the two fighters finally stood head-to-head for publicity pictures.
"Joe got right in his face and stared into his eyes and Lacy didn't want to know," he said. "He looked away, and I think it was the moment he realised exactly what he is up against."
Despite never losing in 40 fights, it remains clear that Calzaghe feels he has not been given full recognition for his talent and achievements. The Welshman's features are still relatively untouched by the rigours of a professional career that began in 1993 and he smiled as he said: "Saturday is the chance to show everyone who doesn't believe it that I am the best. He is a very good fighter, but I have fought every good fighter in the past.
"This is about skill. This is the next level. I have been champion for eight years and I have beaten the best opponents I could at the time. Now I am going into this fight with something to gain. I am fighting for a title and this is massive. My weight is fine. I have trained with a lot of intensity. I feel fresh and still at the top of my game. I predict that I will win.
"Look, no offense to the guy, but he only slags me off when I'm not around and it's quite obvious that he lacks confidence and knows he is out of his depth here. He was asked questions about comments he made about me lacking heart or slapping with my punches but, because I was there, he couldn't bring himself to answer properly. He looked scared, and I'm going to box his ears off!"
Friday March 3, 2006
The Guardian
If body language counts for anything at pre-fight press conferences, the dour demeanour of the normally affable Jeff Lacy, when he faced the media alongside Joe Calzaghe in a Manchester hotel yesterday, suggests he is feeling the pressure before their world super-middleweight title unification fight at the MEN Arena in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Lacy, 28, the International Boxing Federation champion, had earlier refused to appear with Calzaghe on the set of Coronation Street for a series of publicity shots to be shown on last night's ITV News and in selected newspapers. He was then close to monosyllabic in his response to questions after his rotund promoter Gary Shaw described him as a cross between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, and perhaps ungenuinely as "the most exciting boxer in the world" (taking a leaf out of Bob Arum's book from when Arum called Nigel Benn "the most exciting boxer in the world" in 1990, and Benn genuinely was).
By contrast Calzaghe, 33, who is now quoted as an 11-10 outsider by the bookmakers for the division's biggest fight since Gerald McClellan fought Nigel Benn 11 years ago, seemed relaxed and showed a confidence befitting a man who has been the World Boxing Organisation champion since 1997 and is about to figure in his 19th world title contest.
"This is a cracking fight, a great fight. It's 50-50 and the fans benefit from that," said the promoter Frank Warren who, for once, has little reason to hype up the contest to provoke ticket sales due to Calzaghe's legion of Welsh fans getting behind their man for the biggest fight of his career. The MEN Arena is already assured of being filled close to its 20,000 capacity, and a lot of Welshmen have already made the long trip up to Manchester and are staying in hotels around the city. "This is the chance Joe has been waiting for, to do what he has dreamed about for a long time: to unify the titles," added Warren.
Lacy's trainer Dan Birmingham said his fighter had shown a new level of dedication in his preparations, and the loquacious Shaw said Lacy was "a fighter who lights up boxing". But Lacy restricted himself to a "we'll see in the ring on Saturday" style of publicity which has proved a frustration to would-be interviewers since he arrived in Britain last week.
The American, who is undefeated in 21 fights, was at least lucid when asked about the effect of Calzaghe's huge level of support. "It doesn't worry me. I've always been the underdog," he said. "I like this event and that's why I've come here."
Calzaghe's father and trainer Enzo, a diminutive man who never suppresses the opportunity to spill out a thousand words or so when assessing his son's chances, says he spotted a ***** in Lacy's psychological armour when the two fighters finally stood head-to-head for publicity pictures.
"Joe got right in his face and stared into his eyes and Lacy didn't want to know," he said. "He looked away, and I think it was the moment he realised exactly what he is up against."
Despite never losing in 40 fights, it remains clear that Calzaghe feels he has not been given full recognition for his talent and achievements. The Welshman's features are still relatively untouched by the rigours of a professional career that began in 1993 and he smiled as he said: "Saturday is the chance to show everyone who doesn't believe it that I am the best. He is a very good fighter, but I have fought every good fighter in the past.
"This is about skill. This is the next level. I have been champion for eight years and I have beaten the best opponents I could at the time. Now I am going into this fight with something to gain. I am fighting for a title and this is massive. My weight is fine. I have trained with a lot of intensity. I feel fresh and still at the top of my game. I predict that I will win.
"Look, no offense to the guy, but he only slags me off when I'm not around and it's quite obvious that he lacks confidence and knows he is out of his depth here. He was asked questions about comments he made about me lacking heart or slapping with my punches but, because I was there, he couldn't bring himself to answer properly. He looked scared, and I'm going to box his ears off!"
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