On Saturday, I spoke with the formidable super middleweight, Jeff ?Left Hook? Lacy. He will begin his trek on the comeback trail after a serious shoulder injury stopped him for a while. Lacy (25-3, 17 KOs) will square off against Dhafir Smith in Saint Petersburg, Florida on December 7. They will be fighting for the vacant UBO International super middleweight title. Lacy had much to say about his career, boxing, MMA, Manny Pacquiao and the importance of a Pacquiao ? Mayweather bout.
LS: How are you doing, Jeff?
JL: I?m good, how about yourself?
LS: I?m doing good, thanks.You?ve been out of the ring for a while. Your last fight was August of 2009 against Roy Jones. I know you had a shoulder injury. Was that injury already a factor during the Jones fight?
JL: Oh yeah. I was on my comeback trail. Actually, it was an injury that I?ve been prolonging ever since the Olympics.
LS: Tell me a little bit about the nature of the injury.
JL: Basically, in my fight with Vitaliy Tsypko, I tore my subscapularis tendon, and 97% of the tendon was off the bone.
LS: I know you?ve had surgery. How?s your shoulder feeling now?
JL: It?s feeling great.
LS: Do you feel like the surgery has brought you back to 100% condition?
JL: Yeah! Yeah, and seriously, it?s just better than what I expected it was gonna be.
LS: Well, ?Left Hook? Lacy is back, and you have a fight planned for December 11th against Dhafir Smith for the vacant UBO International title. What do you know about your opponent?
JL: Well, I know he?s coming to win. I mean, this fight between me and Smith is a very important one, and I?ve always said; anytime you have someone that?s willing to get in the ring is a dangerous opponent.
LS: How?s everything been going in your training camp for this fight?
JL: I?d say it couldn?t be better. I have no doubt in my mind that everything is working 100%. I?m very excited about my training camp.
LS: The Super Middleweight division is a very competitive division right now. You know, they have the Super Six Tournament going on that includes some of the best super middles in the world. What are your thoughts on the tournament, and its fighters?
JL: I think that the Super Six Tournament is a very, very good idea that KenHershman came up with. I?m a little bit down that I wasn?t one of the participants as a world champion when I was making my run as a world champion. But, it?s a great tournament for boxing.
LS: A lot of people loved the Super Six Tournament when it got started, but are kind of down on it now because a lot of guys have had to drop out, and it?s taking so long. But then you got Manny Pacquiao kind of lifting up the sport. You got Floyd Mayweather, and you know, controversy sells. What do you think about the overall state of boxing right now?
JL: Basically, it?s up and down. I?m gonna start with the Super Six. It started out as a great, great, great attention-turner for boxing. But, there is not one fighter in the Super Six where you can feel that you can ride on ? that?s been there without going through injuries. All the sudden, now they can?t participate in that tournament. That?s the only downfall about the Super Six. Now, if they had been able to keep the guys that started, it would be a very, very interesting tournament to see how the outcome comes.
But with Manny Pacquiao ? Manny is doing his thing. Manny is, in my eyes, when you talk boxing, that?s the first person I see. The fight between him and Mayweather is a must for boxing because you have the UFC and the XFC thinking that they?re taking over boxing. I don?t see it that way. I don?t see UFC and XFC taking over boxing. All I see is something that?s making better competition for boxers. When you?re watching a UFC fight, when they?re striking, the fans are excited about it. When you see them go to the ground? the fans? It?s a lull in the action. The fans don?t like it. I don?t hate (MMA). Actually, I like it. I really do. I mean, at the end of the day, the fans wanna se combat. The fans wanna see someone getting hurt ? someone delivering what they wanna see. Our fans, you know, working 9:00 to 5:00, and they get a chance to escape from their everyday life by watching what we do in the ring. I can understand them wanting some excitement. That?s why you see me come out as the fighter that I am. I like to go out there and knock someone?s head off. Yeah, I?m a very nice guy, but at the same time, I?m in there to do my business and get out as quick as I can. It?s great competition, and everybody needs competition. That?s what we do.
LS: And boxing itself needs its competition.
JL: Exactly!
LS: What did you think of Pacquiao?s performance?
JL: (Breaks in) Brilliant.
LS: ?against Margarito.
JL: The guy is brilliant. I mean, he is the man. I gotta give it to him. A fighter that comes from 106 pounds to capture 8 world titles in all different divisions, that?s brilliant. It was a brilliant performance out of Manny Pacquiao. In my generation I?ve never seen no other fighter that could stand up to him. The only other fighter that I feel that could stand next to him is Floyd Mayweather. Like I said, that?s the fight that must happen ? that the fans wanna see. Seriously, the high that Manny Pacquiao is on, is gonna be hard to be dethrone.
LS: Everybody pretty much agrees that Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather are the greatest pound-for-pound boxers in the world right now. Do you think they?ll ever fight?
JL: I think eventually it?ll happen. I really do. I think it?s a fight that the fans are gonna want, and they?re gonna demand. The boxing public is gonna want it, and they?re gonna demand. Everybody feels that UFC has taken over boxing. This fight is a definite that needs to happen to silence a lot of people that really think that?s the case. But I don?t think that?s the case. That?s a fight that?s gonna really catapult boxing again.
LS: Most people feel that Pacquiao is one of the greatest offensive boxers, and Floyd Mayweather is one of the greatest defensive boxers?
JL: (Breaks in) I feel they both have the negative and the Pacquiao. I can?t say that if Floyd Mayweather went in there and pot-shot him, that he would win, and I can?t say vice-versa for Manny Pacquiao ? for him to move around, and he?ll win. Or, let?s talk about slugging it out. Either one of them? Floyd Mayweather is such a superb pick-shotter. He knows the game. At the same time, Manny Pacquiao does the same thing. So, looking at both of them and sizing them both up, I feel that it?s just about even. It?s gonna come down to who woke up on the right side of the bed that morning.
LS: I don?t think that there?s any way that it wouldn?t be a close fight. There could be an initial fight, then a rematch.
JL: Of course. Of course. Most the time when you have rematch fights, it?s because you don?t see them being knocked out. I don?t see Manny knocking Floyd out, and I don?t see Floyd knocking Manny out. I look to see a really good performance from both of them. They both have a lot on the line. With the egos of both fighters, they?re not going to just give it up that easily. That?s gonna be special to see that night. Great matchup.
LS: Back to you and your career. Name some boxers who have inspired you in your career.
JL: Actually, I came up watching a lot of Evander Holyfield. Just his ring generalship, his warrior inside of him and that feeling of winning at all circumstances. And, despite that he was a small heavyweight, and he?s in there with these guys that are 240 or 250, and beating them, or hanging with them.
LS: What are your plans for the future? You?re back, so how far do you plan to take it, and what are your goals?
JL: My thing is; I wanna capture what I once had, and then some. That?s my goals in fighting right now. At 168 lbs, I have some unfinished business that I?m focused on capturing again, and making a huge statement. With my background, and what I?ve been through, for me to get back on top is gonna catch a lot of people by surprise.
LS: Well, Jeff, I know the boxing world is glad to have you back. What do you want to say to all the ?Left Hook? Lacy fans out there?
JL: Thank you for standing behind me 110%, because a lot of people wrote me off, and we about to have fun on this 2nd chapter of my life. I will guarantee you that. I?m 120% back now, and we gonna go collect our money.
LS: Thanks for talking to me, Jeff.
JL: Thank you.
Pro boxer Delray Raines of Paris: ?Well, I can only say that I hope for the best for him. If he trains like a champ, he can come out on top.?
Cliff Garrigus of Rogers: “I?ve been a fan of Lacy since the beginning. I?m glad to hear he?s back.?
Pro trainer Stacy Goodson of Paris: “I met Lacy on the way up when he fought in Joplin Missouri years ago. Seemed like a really great guy. He never seemed to be able to finish the game he started. I see him as an older, wiser guy on a comeback. I really do expect a different, more mature and focused Jeff Lacey.”
