The kid has got some real potential. A fun fighter to watch who is rolling over anything that gets in his way. He'll fight SuperMiddleweight king Joe Calzage next then I expect him to move to either Light Heavy or Middleweight where he can make more money and attain bigger fights.

 

from espn.com

 

TAMPA, Fla. -- Jeff "Left Hook" Lacy was hardly distracted by fighting at home for the first time as a pro.

 

 

Spurred on by a crowd of 15,056 chanting "Lacy, Lacy, Lacy" and cheering every combination of punches, the native of nearby St. Petersburg successfully defended his IBF super middleweight title with a seven-round TKO of Robin Reid on Saturday night.

 

 

 

Lacy knocked down his opponent four times before the bout was stopped.

Lacy hurt the challenger repeatedly with his signature punch and knocked down the British fighter four times before Reid's trainer stopped the lopsided match before the start of the eighth round.

 

 

"I didn't take him lightly. I don't take anyone lightly," Lacy said. "I trained hard. I took it to another level."

 

 

Promoter Gary Shaw scheduled the fight in Tampa at the request of Lacy, who had always dreamed of defending a title before family, friends and fans who supported him as an amateur.

 

 

Shaw was hesitant, though, concerned that fighting at home could be a distraction for the fighter. Lacy insisted it wouldn't, and changed the voice mail greeting on his cell phone to inform callers to not bother asking him for tickets because he had none.

 

 

He did his part in the ring, too.

 

 

Reid's corner stopped the fight after Lacy hurt the former WBC super middleweight champ with a flurry of punches, then landed an uppercut that sent the challenger to his knees with about 25 seconds left in the seventh.

 

 

Reid looked to his handlers before climbing to his feet and finishing the round, holding off Lacy by lunging forward and grabbing the champion's legs.

 

 

"Robin just wasn't himself tonight. It was my decision to stop it," trainer Brian Hughes said. "I didn't want him to get hurt any more."

 

 

Lacy improved to 20-0 with 16 knockouts and also set up a possible unification bout with WBO champion Joe Calzaghe the first weekend of November in Wales.

 

 

"I'm coming for you Joe," Lacy said.

 

 

The bout at the St. Pete Times Forum was the first major fight in Tampa since Roy Jones Jr. fought Derrick Harmon at the same arena in 2001. It also was Lacy's first before hometown fans since the native of nearby St. Petersburg turned pro after the 2000 Olympics.

 

 

Reid, of England, is 38-5-1, with four of his losses coming in title fights. He disagreed with the decision to stop it.

 

 

"Of course, I wanted the fight to continue," Reid said. "I'm a fighter."

 

 

During the days leading up to the fight, the challenger complained about a lack of respect from the Lacy camp, which went as far as to present him with a T-shirt that proclaimed the 34-year-old traveled all the way to the United States "and all I got was knocked out by Jeff Lacy!"

 

 

Reid countered by showing up at Friday's weigh-in and giving the champion a plaque, attached to a belt, and bearing the words: "This Is The Only Belt You Are Taking Home Lacy."

 

 

Lacy won the vacant IBF title with an eighth-round TKO of Syd Vanderpool last October and has successfully defended the crown three times.

 

 

Lacy also retained his title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Omar Sheika last December and a seventh-round TKO over Rubin Williams on March 5 in Las Vegas.

 

 

The fight was just the third for Reid since losing a 12-round decision to Sven Ottke for the WBA and IBF super middleweight crowns on Dec. 13, 2003.

Very poorly officiated fight. Although Lacy was clearly the better fighter, he should have been penalized for his VERY cheap shot he took on Reid in the 5th.

 

For those who did not watch the fight, there was an "intentional" headbutt called on Reid in the 5th round and referee Jorge Alonso stepped in and broke the fighters up to take a point away from Reid. With the ref in the middle of them, Lacy threw a cheap and late punch that connected and knocked Reid down and effectively ended the fight. To make matters worse, the punch was ruled a knock down by Alonso, which penalized Reid further instead of giving him time to clear his head.

 

This was a very biasedly officiated fight throughout and with such a clear cut skill advantage, it shows why the great sport of boxing has a black eye with most fans. Look for Lacy to easily roll through Calzaghe and move up to the light heavyweight division. He is so strong his power will translate smoothly there too, should be fun to keep an eye on.

I believe the topic should have been titled "Lacy Continues to Show Dominance". I hope he does well when he moves up to light heavy, but I still don't think Calzaghe will want to face Lacy due to Joe's lack of testicles.

I don't know, I think a good boxer could take Lacy. He's too in love with the one punch knockout and tends to let his opponents stay in the fight, moving up to lgiht heavyweight do nothing but magnify that.