Thursday, March 03, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Unbeaten champ Lacy out to make name for himself in ring

By KEVIN IOLE
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Jeff Lacy tapes his hands Wednesday in preparation for Saturday's IBF title fight with Rubin Williams. Photo by John Locher. Jeff Lacy celebrates his IBF super middleweight championship victory over Omar Sheika in December at Mandalay Bay. Photo by K.M. Cannon.

Jeff Lacy is an undefeated world champion, a former Olympian who is one of boxing's rising young stars.

But he almost seemed embarrassed Wednesday talking about the subject for which he has become best known.

Lacy, who will defend his IBF super middleweight championship on Saturday at Mandalay Bay against Rubin Williams, was profiled on the A&E series "Caesars 24/7," on Feb. 7.

In the final scene, after Lacy had beaten Syd Vanderpool to win the title, he shooed the cameramen who had been following him for nearly three weeks out of his suite so he could jump into the tub and take a bubble bath.

"That's the only part everyone talks to me about," Lacy said, laughing heartily. "I think everybody saw the show, but they probably only saw the same two-minute part."

The good-natured Lacy, who is 18-0 with 14 knockouts, doesn't mind the ribbing he's taken since the show aired. He doesn't fight in one of boxing's high-profile divisions and, outside of a unification bout with WBO champion Joe Calzaghe, there are precious few big-money fights available, so the attention he's received has been helpful.

To truly get a significant fight, Lacy will likely have to leave his division to challenge former U.S. Olympic teammate Jermain Taylor at middleweight or move up to take on light heavyweights such as Glen Johnson or Antonio Tarver. He concedes it's unlikely he'll meet middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins since Hopkins plans to retire at the end of the year.

Lacy is simply trying to build his profile, in or out of the ring, and is willing to try something different. But he doesn't expect Saturday's bout to end any differently than any of his first 18 despite Williams' boasts.

Williams is known as "Mr. Hollywood," because, he explained, "When I hit guys, they see stars."

Lacy appreciated it as a good line worth a laugh, but he didn't take it seriously. He's hardly dismissive of Williams, as the seriousness with which he worked Wednesday showed, but he's clearly confident.

He hopes a win leads to a unification bout with Calzaghe, a Welshman who, because of a fear of flying, is reluctant to fight outside of Great Britain. To facilitate the bout, Lacy said he would agree to fight Calzaghe on his home soil.

"If Gary Shaw, my promoter, and my team believe the deal is fair, of course I'd go over to fight him," Lacy said. "It doesn't matter where they put the ring, you still have to fight the fight. If that's what it takes to get the deal done, if we can get it on TV, then no problem.

"As an athlete, my goal is to be the best. To be the best, you have to beat the best. It's pretty simple. It's up to me."

And for Lacy, that means unleashing the left hook that has become one of the most feared punches in boxing. Lacy, though, isn't predicting a knockout. He failed to stop Omar Sheika in his first defense, winning a unanimous decision on Dec. 4 at Mandalay Bay, though many expected him to knock out Sheika.

"I'm coming to win, whatever I have to do," Lacy said. "Sheika fought a great fight. It was his Super Bowl and he really got up and came through with the performance of his life. When you're a champion, you have to be ready to get down and dirty because you know they're going to bring everything they have."

And, he was teased, because a bubble bath might await at the end.

"One of the perks of being the champion," he said. "`A bubble bath on national TV."