Saturday night, at the outdoor concert venue called Jannus Live in downtown St. Petersburg Fl, former IBF/WBO super middleweight champion Jeff Lacy will step back into the ring for the first time since his corner stopped his bout with another former champion, Roy Jones Jr, in August of 2009. The fight venue is a bit of a step down for a fighter that once fought on PPV in Vegas, but it is a step back into greatness for a fighter that truly is a nice guy. For this fight, Lacy 25-3 (17), will take on a tough veteran out of Philadelphia, Dhafir Smith 23-19-7 (4).
Lacy is looking to make a run at the super middleweight title again. His career has been like a roller coaster ride as he has been to the top of his division and in top shape before taking on another champion, Joe Calzaghe, and absorbing a career changing beating at his hands. In his first fight back, Lacy took on Vitaliy Tyspko and won a majority decision. After that fight, it was revealed that Lacy had suffered a torn rotator cuff early in the fight which limited his fighting. He then took a year off before he returned to the ring. Lacy’s career after that was never the same, winning fights against guys like Peter Manfredo and Epifanio Mendoza before heading into a crossroads fight against former middleweight champion Jermaine Taylor. In that fight, it seemed that Jeff Lacy was lost and it showed on the judge’s scorecard as they awarded Taylor a wide unanimous decision. Lacy bounced back in a win against fringe contender Otis Griffin which led to the fight against Roy Jones Jr. In the fight, Lacy seemed to be slower than we have seen him and Roy Jones was able to tee off on him, leaving his corner no choice but to stop the fight at the end of the tenth round.
Lacy has stated that he is healed up and feeling that his power is better than it was when he met up with Jones Jr. He is confident that his place in the super middleweight division is yet to be decided and that he will be back at the top of the division and into a major championship fight shortly.
This fight with Smith is for a minor title from a sanctioning body called the Universal Boxing Organization and he hopes it turns into a bigger shot for him. This fight could be telling for Lacy. Should he drag through to a close decision, it could prove to be detrimental to him. A loss will cripple his career, but a fast KO of Smith, could garner enough attention to get Lacy back into another good fight. We will see in St. Pete on Saturday. For more information and tickets, go to http://www.jannuslive.com/boxing-jeff-lacy-vs-dhafir-smith.
Bob Carroll
www.convictedartist.com
Butch and I will be broadcasting live from the venue during the fight, so tune into Fightin’ Words Radio Show, starting at a special time of 9 PM EST Saturday night. To listen, see the link below. For the best in boxing, sports, punk rock and the sound of 80’s metal, listen to the Fightin’ Words Radio Network. Monday, 7-9PM, bring you Francis “The Punk Rock Pirate” Carroll with San Clemente Punk, Tuesday, 8-9PM brings Big Dog Radio, hosted by Convicted Artist writers “The Big Dog” Benny Henderson and Bob Carroll, Wednesday night 7-9PM, brings you Sports Tonite with Tommy G., Thursday night, 7-9PM, sees Rock N Sports hosted by Frank Carroll and heavyweight contender Danny Batchelder, Friday night, 8-10 PM put on the parachute pants and mullets as Bob Carroll transports you back to the 80’s hair metal era with “All Hail Hair” and Saturday night from 6-7 PM, the flagship show of the network, Fightin’ Words, hosted by Bob Carroll and Butch is on the air. All shows are also archived on the Fightin’ Words Radio Network show page. To listen to any of the shows on the Fightin’ Words Radio Network, click here
