Rick Ronson
Banned
i got roy kicking his ass almost like old times
By Cliff Rold
The promotional title for this weekend’s Light Heavyweight showdown is “Hook City” but the more apt title might be “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.” For years, Jones dreamt aloud about getting out of the game before it could do to him what it had so many others and yet as he enters middle age, here he still is, hanging on after four bad defeats in his last eight.
Lacy had bigger dreams once too. The 2000 Olympian worked his way to the moment when he could have seized control of the Super Middleweight landscape only to be thrashed by Joe Calzaghe. He’s never shown the promise he once did again, suffering a terrible shoulder injury and struggling for wins against average fare while losing in the lone major step up he’s had since. In his most recent bout, Lacy narrowly got by journeyman Eric Griffin. Griffin had lost two of three prior by knockout and has since been knocked out again.
As is so often the case in boxing, fighters with names and less options then found in their heyday turn to each other and in the grand tradition of bouts like Roberto Duran-Vinny Pazienza and Hector Camacho-Ray Leonard, we get this weekend’s scheduled twelve rounds at the Gulf Coast Arena in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Let’s go to the report card.
The Ledgers
Roy Jones Jr.
Age: 40
Titles: None
Previous Titles: IBF Middleweight (1993-94, 1 Defenses); IBF Super Middleweight (1994-96, 5 Defenses); WBC Light Heavyweight (1996-97; 1997-98, 1 Defense); WBC/WBA Light Heavyweight (1998-99, 3 Defenses); WBC/WBA/IBF Light Heavyweight (1999-2002, 5 Defenses); Ring/WBC/WBA/IBF Light Heavyweight (2002-03, 2 Defenses); Ring Light Heavyweight (2003, 1 Defense); Ring/WBC Light Heavyweight (2003-04)
Height: 5’11
Weight: 174
Average Weight – Last Five Fights: 173.45
Hails From: Pensacola, Florida
Record: 53-5, 39 KO
Record in Title Fights: 24-4, 14 KO, 2 KOBY
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Defeated: 16 (Jorge Vaca, Jorge Castro, Bernard Hopkins, Thulani Malinga, James Toney, Vinny Pazienza, Eric Lucas, Mike McCallum, Montell Griffin, Virgil Hill, Lou Del Valle, Reggie Johnson, Julio Gonzalez, Clinton Woods, Antonio Tarver, Felix Trinidad)
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced in Defeat: 4 (Montell Griffin, Antonio Tarver, Glen Johnson, Joe Calzaghe)
Current/Former Alphabelt Titlists Faced in Defeat: 2 (Antonio Tarver, Glen Johnson)
Vs.
Jeff Lacy
Age: 32
Title: None
Previous Titles: IBF Super Middleweight (2004-06, 4 Defenses)
Height: 5’10
Weight: 172
Average Weight – Last Five Fights: 168.75 lbs.
Hails from: St. Petersburg, Florida
Record: 25-2, 17 KO
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Defeated: 1 (Robin Reid)
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced in Defeat: 2 (Joe Calzaghe, Jermain Taylor)
Pre-Fight Grades
Speed: Jones A; Lacy B
Power: Jones B; Lacy B
Defense: Jones B; Lacy C+
Intangibles: Jones B; Lacy B
Both of these men have visibly slipped from their best form but it’s safe to say Jones had much farther to fall and still retains the key advantage he had for most of his career. Jones still has remarkable speed and not for an old man. His speed is still world class in general. It’s not what it was, allowing him to be timed in ways he wasn’t in his prime, but against the average fare he’s defeated since the first loss to Antonio Tarver, the Anthony Hanshaw’s and Omar Sheika’s, he can still look almost like the Roy of old.
Lacy was never a speed guy and speed has been his Achilles heel. Most of the fighters he’s faced with faster hands than him have either won or made Lacy look bad, including Sheika, Calzaghe, Tsypko, and most recently his former Olympic team mate Taylor. Lacy will have to use his jab to the chest and hope he can force Jones to the ropes where he can be vulnerable to Lacy’s left hook.
The question then becomes whether or not Lacy can put enough mustard into his shots to make it count and whether he can get home before Jones sets his defense. Jones has always been comfortable on the ropes and, with degradation in his athleticism and reflexes, got into serious trouble against Tarver, Johnson and Calzaghe. Lacy has to throw the hook over Jones arms, or fire his overhand right between them, before Jones pulls his guard in tight or the punches won’t land flush.
Even then it might be tough to see a knockout as neither man has scored a significant knockout in years. Lacy last blazed through a foe in stopping Scott Pemberton in two while Jones stoppage of Sheika was his first since 2002.
In terms of defense, both men are flawed. Jones once could make men miss from inches away with unorthodox head movement but today relies more on using his forearms and gloves while riding the shots that get through. Lacy comes forward no matter who he’s fighting and has regularly had problems with swelling as he attempts to block with his face. To his credit, Lacy can often look like he’s getting hit more than he is as against Taylor he covered up well in flurries…but only after he’d first been tagged.
In terms of intangibles, both men have been shown a tendency to be forced into shells under fire in recent years. Jones scored an early knockdown of Calzaghe only to be battered the rest of the night, unable to pull the trigger even as Calzaghe dropped his hands repeatedly to mock and clown Jones. Lacy always looks for a big shot, but he’s apt to cover up and ride through storms without attempting to counter assaults. That makes this fight about the man who can gain momentum first. It may be neither man can concentrate an attack, making for a better fight for those who purchase the pay-per-view.
The Pick
This is a fight between a Jones who at his best was great and a Lacy who at his best was pretty good. Given the standards, Jones should be favored even giving up eight years of youth. That doesn’t mean Lacy isn’t live. If he can connect early, Jones legs are not what they were and his chin remains suspect after brutal knockout losses to Tarver and Johnson. Lacy’s best chance is to score early and swarm, never letting Jones get set and it’s a real chance. However, there is also a chance Jones stays at mid ring enough to time the rushes and catch Lacy with his awkward hooks and lead right. In what will be a better fight than most expect, look for more of the latter and a close Jones decision win on Saturday night.
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
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u serious??
