worst fight review ever inside...

Phoenix · Post by **Phoenix** » 05 Mar 2006, 14:01

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=6217&more=1

lvlarc · Post by **lvlarc** » 05 Mar 2006, 14:03

What a tool, that guy should be fired.

Cannibal · Post by **Cannibal** » 05 Mar 2006, 14:16

Seems that some people are determined to pick holes even in such one sided victories.

Calzaghe was working extremely hard in that fight and it is nonsense for that reviewer to say that Lacy took most of Calzaghes combos on the gloves, you could see most of them quite clearly landing. That was FAR from the worst display of clinching I've seen. There is usually at least one televised fight every couple of weeks that has some form of holding, it's accepted territory in boxing.

fornicate sake, most of the greats used clinching in their strategy, even Ali. Ali used to enter clinches and lean on the other guy with his arms outstretched so as to make it look like his opponent was holding him. Don't give me this crap about comparing Calzaghe to Jack Johnson, Calzaghe was entertaining in his win and some are trying to make out that he is a hit and grab artist who will turn people off him, bullshit.

lvlarc · Post by **lvlarc** » 05 Mar 2006, 14:19

The worst thing about it is if Calzaghe had KO'd Lacy in round 1 then they would be saying he just landed a lucky punch.

But instead he totally dismantled him with textbook boxing.

states · Post by **states** » 05 Mar 2006, 14:33

Yet another addition to the (long) list of appalling articles from Eastside. That place really is piss-poor.

lvlarc · Post by **lvlarc** » 05 Mar 2006, 14:38

This is how it should be done. From ESPN

MANCHESTER, England -- Joe Calzaghe earning a lopsided, unanimous decision over Jeff Lacy on Sunday to win the American's IBF super-middleweight title and hold on to his own WBO title for the 18th time.

AP/Jon Super
Calzaghe's 18th title defense yielded unified spoils.

An underdog even with the British bookmakers to win the unification fight, the Welshman was so convincing in the 12-round fight that even Lacy nodded when Calzaghe lifted his arms aloft at the final bell. He cut Lacy around both eyes and knocked him down in the final round.

Two judges scored the bout 119-107 while another scored it 119-105.

It was Lacy's first loss in 22 fights while Calzaghe, the longest reigning current world champion at 8{ years, improved to 41-0.

"I've spent eight years as a champion and I get the opportunity to fight Jeff Lacy who is being touted by so many people in America and is a dangerous fighter," Calzaghe said. "And being written off my so many people. Morning, noon and night, Lacy's been on my mind for months.

"I'm ecstatic, not just beating Lacy but demoralizing him, and totally outclassing him and I think I showed the world."

Lacy, five years younger than Calzaghe at 28, had defended his title four times and had hoped to dominate the fight with the power of his own left hook. He also hoped that Calzaghe's own left, which was broken in his last defense, might not last the fight. He was wrong on both counts even though Calzaghe said the fist was badly bruised around round eight or nine.

"I still kept throwing punches," the Welshman said. "I had to grit my teeth and bear it. I missed about five days training at, one stage, it was 50-50 to take the fight. But this was an opportunity that probably wouldn't come my way again and I still had confidence in my ability."

Lacy didn't make it to the post fight news conference. According to Lacy's manager, Dan Birmingham, the American needed stitches to both cuts above his eyes.

"Rather than dwelling on what Jeff didn't do in the ring, I'd like to dwell on what Joe did," Birmingham said. "He was a master of distance and timing tonight. I've never seen a better performance, even by an American boxer, forget about Britain."

Calzaghe came out throwing left uppercuts and hooks, and also threw his arms up to claim he won the opening round.

Although Lacy landed a solid right hand in round two, Calzaghe came back with a left-right combination to the chin and, by the fourth round there was blood coming from the American's nose and trickling down his face from cuts above both eyes.

With the home fans in the crowd of about 12,000 chanting "Easy! Easy!", Calzaghe stayed on top and his right jab kept snapping into Lacy's face. The Welshman's punching speed seemed to take the strength away from the American, who rarely answered back with any hard shots.

Lacy's cornermen had to work hard on his eyes between rounds, and Calzaghe had him trapped in a corner and kept pummeling his face with fast combinations with the American fighting back to try and stay in the fight.

His right eye closing, Lacy got through with some right hands, but Calzaghe's accuracy was still keeping him well ahead on the judge's cards.

Lacy, nicknamed "Left Hook", finally landed it in the ninth but it did little to stem the flow of shots coming his way.

A left and right put Lacy down for a count of four in the final round and the American continued with blood streaming down his face, but Calzaghe was unable to finish the fight with a knockout.

On the undercard, Enzo Maccarinelli successfully defended his WBU cruiserweight title for the seventh time with a unanimous decision over Mark Hobson and Wayne Alexander, in his first defense of the WBU light middleweight crown, gained a split decision over Thomas McDonagh.

Shirow · Post by **Shirow** » 05 Mar 2006, 16:42

I believe this post by Heavyhitters deserves to be highlighted...

All the way home from Manchester i was trying to think how some specially abled US posters could discredit this win and i couldn't come up with anything. How i underestimated them.

Apparently we all witnessed a Ruiz like hugfest. There should be a rematch in the US to find the true better man.

Current scene

I was trying to post this on the Lacy/Calzag round for round... But I kept getting a debug error... Crimini!!

That was "Hilarious"!! The referee finally woke up and started doing his job... IN THE !!TH ROUND!!!!

He finally warned Calzaghe of holding mid-way thru the 11th round. Way to go Rip Van Winkle!

You got to hand it to Calzag's handlers though. They found a way for their guy to cheat, quick as it may be, so that an inept referee won't be able to detect it. Either that referee couldn't detect his quick hugs and hold on the inside which would keep Lacy from using his right hand, and also allowing Calzag to keep throwing short punches inside while holding, or the referee didn't have any balls to warn and deduct points away from the home town fighter.

What a joke. Without Calzaghe holding and hugging like he did, I say Lacy knocks him out.

ferocity wrote:
I still would like to see Calzaghe fight Lacy in the states, he's already proven he can beat him in Europe but can he beat him in the states...

Eastside

lillil
No kidding! Clinch master indeed! Lacy would've knocked Joe out if Joe wasn't so afraid of the bombs.
05.03.06 @ 11:37:03

KO Artist · Post by **KO Artist** » 05 Mar 2006, 16:46

Shirow wrote:I believe this post by Heavyhitters deserves to be highlighted...

All the way home from Manchester i was trying to think how some specially abled US posters could discredit this win and i couldn't come up with anything. How i underestimated them.

Apparently we all witnessed a Ruiz like hugfest. There should be a rematch in the US to find the true better man.

Current scene
I was trying to post this on the Lacy/Calzag round for round... But I kept getting a debug error... Crimini!!

That was "Hilarious"!! The referee finally woke up and started doing his job... IN THE !!TH ROUND!!!!

He finally warned Calzaghe of holding mid-way thru the 11th round. Way to go Rip Van Winkle!

You got to hand it to Calzag's handlers though. They found a way for their guy to cheat, quick as it may be, so that an inept referee won't be able to detect it. Either that referee couldn't detect his quick hugs and hold on the inside which would keep Lacy from using his right hand, and also allowing Calzag to keep throwing short punches inside while holding, or the referee didn't have any balls to warn and deduct points away from the home town fighter.

What a joke. Without Calzaghe holding and hugging like he did, I say Lacy knocks him out.
Eastside
lillil
No kidding! Clinch master indeed! Lacy would've knocked Joe out if Joe wasn't so afraid of the bombs.
05.03.06 @ 11:37:03

These Lacy fans should realise there is a difference between holding and tying a man up.

Calzaghe was always fighting inside, he wasnt holding, it was Lacy who was accepting the clinches and not working.

Lacy is meant to be world class, if he cant work out of a clinch he should go back to boxing in the golden gloves.

Lacy was strong and had a good chin and heart but he was as green as grass (At 28) Its not as if hes a kid.

My T Sharp · Post by **My T Sharp** » 05 Mar 2006, 17:43

Boxing
Lacy loses belt, mark in a rout
Joe Calzaghe punishes St. Petersburg's Jeff Lacy, taking away his world title and his undefeated record.
By JOHN C. COTEY, Times Staff Writer
Published March 5, 2006

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MANCHESTER, England - As St. Petersburg's Jeff Lacy took a pounding at the hands of Joe Calzaghe, adviser Jim Wilkes looked at trainer Dan Birmingham in the final round with a desperate expression that begged him to throw in the towel.

Promoter Gary Shaw also shouted at Birmingham, apparently for the same reason.

The towel never came and, desite being knocked down in the 12th and final round, Lacy endured.

Barely.

But his IBF super-middleweight title is gone after Saturday's dismantling by WBO champ Calzaghe, who won a unanimous decision before close to 17,000 at the Manchester Evening News Arena.

Calzaghe won every round. Will he finally get the respect he says he deserves?

Two judges scored it 119-107, while a third had it 119-105, the most lopsided victory in an unblemished 41-0 career. The Times had it 118-107.

"His speed threw me off a little bit," Lacy said. "I couldn't get in my rhythm. It was definitely a learning experience."

"Jeff just didn't do anything we asked him to do," Birmingham said. "We had a Plan A and a Plan B but there's nothing you can do when your fighter won't listen to you."

With the best performance of his career, Calzaghe remained boxing's longest reigning champion and halted the Lacy Express.

In the lead-up to the fight, even the British media seemed more enamored of Lacy, 28, who was fast-tracked for stardom with a brawling style as well as the backing of Showtime.

But Calzaghe apparently tired of all the questions the past few years about his heart and quality of competition, delivering as savage a beating as he has ever turned in and shocking even the doubting British media.

"It was total focus and dedication and determination," Calzaghe said. "I said for years I should be ranked in (the) top 10 pound-for-pound. I needed a fight like Jeff Lacy. The better my opponent, the better my performance."

It was brilliant Saturday, a fight reminiscent of Winky Wright's whitewash last year of the harder-hitting Felix Trinidad.

But even Trinidad didn't take the punishment Lacy did. Calzaghe had his way from the start, proving far faster and better equipped to handle pressure than most thought.

Though he said he broke his left hand in the eighth or ninth round, Calzaghe rocked Lacy in almost every round.

A bloodied Lacy went into the final round needing a knockout. He could never get close enough to Calzaghe to get off his vaunted power shots, as the Welshman continually picked them off and countered with combinations of five, six and seven punches.

Strangely, Lacy seemed to abandon all pretense of defense and jabbing in thinking he could take Calzaghe out with one punch. Calzaghe answered every charge with a combination. Lacy kept coming forward, but never could find the range or an angle.

In the fourth round, Lacy was cut near his right eye, and in the fifth he was staggered by a straight right and began bleeding from his nose.

Lacy later took stitches above both eyes and did not make the postfight news conference.

So confident was Calzaghe that he taunted Lacy at various points, even dropping his hands in the ring. By the seventh round, Lacy was breathing heavily.

The loss was his first since the 2000 Olympics, and dropped his professional mark to 21-1.

Calzaghe, 33, won his WBO belt in 1997, but never sought another until accepting Lacy's challenge. Injuries limited him as well, killing off some important bouts and limiting him to five fights the past three years.

But his reluctance to fight away from home damaged his reputation, and Lacy came to England hoping to obliterate it.

Instead, that reputation is enhanced with the addition of Lacy's belt and even bigger fights on the horizon

From the St Petersburg Times, the hometown newspaper of Lacy.

Phenomenal-Nutrition · Post by **Phenomenal-Nutrition** » 05 Mar 2006, 18:12

Eastside articles are written for free by some of their members.

RE Holding - what holding? There was an occaisonal clinch (perfectly legal) and not many clinches at all, but Joe was happy to fight inside and outside, it wasn't like he clinched whenever the action came inside.

Ali clinched allot, Im pretty sure PBF clinched against Castillo, Duran Clinched, Holmes Clinched, Pretty sure ODLH clinched against Mosley. Obviously all these fighter aren't TV fighters.

Autobarn · Post by **Autobarn** » 05 Mar 2006, 20:13

what's this big thing about having to prove it in the states anyhow - as if it doesn't count unless it's in America? joe has never got a lucky decision in 18 defenses although some feel reid might have got a draw. the thing is, when did america last have a real foothold at super middleweight? 1996

Byron Mitchell (vs Ottke, Calzaghe), Charles Brewer (vs Ottke,
Calzaghe), and Jeff Lacy (vs Calzaghe) all went to Europe for their best paydays.

-who's the biggest threat at super middle? Kessler of Denmark

-at light heavyweight, sure Tarver and Jones have been mentioned. Tarver latest choice of opponent speaks for itself. Jones is shot and should be considered by no one. what does that leave? there's a US/Europe gulf with Glen Johnson on one side and Erdei/Tiozzo on the other. between there is Adamek, who's won world title fights in America (in obscurity) and Germany.

showtime have a renewed interest in Calzaghe. I'd like it if they tried to put a Calzaghe-Kessler together, as they seemed interested in showcasing Kessler vs Joppy.

probert24 · Post by **probert24** » 05 Mar 2006, 20:47

The eastside author was tripping over himslef to congratulate Wlad after beating Peter when he was holding twice as much.

steve689 · Post by **steve689** » 06 Mar 2006, 11:34

as Lacy mostly took them on the gloves

That report is a disgrace what f*****g fight was that dick head watching? It was clear to him that Lacy was on his way to a unanimous loss? He makes it sound like Lacy was jobbed in a hometown scandal!!

Coconut · Post by **Coconut** » 06 Mar 2006, 11:41

I didn't know this was basically a 'chip in if you feel like it' site, but I've never given it much credence. But that was terrible. Castigating Calzaghe for imagined illegality then saying Lacy would have won if he'd fought dirty? What a pillock.

I wonder if there hadn't been so much outrage at Hatton 'grappling' againstTszyu whether this prize prat would have had the imagination to see what was in front of him.

Manos de Oro · Post by **Manos de Oro** » 06 Mar 2006, 11:42

Only on Eastside Boxing could a troll write a feature article.

mattyp151 · Post by **mattyp151** » 06 Mar 2006, 11:43

Manos de Oro wrote:Only on Eastside Boxing could a troll write a feature article.

Hammer, Nail, Head, Hit.

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 06 Mar 2006, 11:53

Phenomenal-Nutrition wrote:Eastside articles are written for free by some of their members.

RE Holding - what holding? There was an occaisonal clinch (perfectly legal) and not many clinches at all, but Joe was happy to fight inside and outside, it wasn't like he clinched whenever the action came inside.

Ali clinched allot, Im pretty sure PBF clinched against Castillo, Duran Clinched, Holmes Clinched, Pretty sure ODLH clinched against Mosley. Obviously all these fighter aren't TV fighters.

MOST stuff on the internet is written for free mate, very few websites pay their writers and if they do believe me, it isn't a king's ransom.

I used to write for eastside, and left to write for maxboxing, they have some good writers there, but the trouble is they let just about anyone write for them. That's why you get 10 guys all writing about the same fight, there's no editorial control at all. It's a shame, because there are guys there like Frank Lotierzo who know the sport.

Phenomenal-Nutrition · Post by **Phenomenal-Nutrition** » 06 Mar 2006, 12:13

jamesmcdonnell wrote:
Phenomenal-Nutrition wrote:Eastside articles are written for free by some of their members.

RE Holding - what holding? There was an occaisonal clinch (perfectly legal) and not many clinches at all, but Joe was happy to fight inside and outside, it wasn't like he clinched whenever the action came inside.

Ali clinched allot, Im pretty sure PBF clinched against Castillo, Duran Clinched, Holmes Clinched, Pretty sure ODLH clinched against Mosley. Obviously all these fighter aren't TV fighters.
MOST stuff on the internet is written for free mate, very few websites pay their writers and if they do believe me, it isn't a king's ransom.

I used to write for eastside, and left to write for maxboxing, they have some good writers there, but the trouble is they let just about anyone write for them. That's why you get 10 guys all writing about the same fight, there's no editorial control at all. It's a shame, because there are guys there like Frank Lotierzo who know the sport.

Yea thats the problem on Eastside - anyone can write for them. The forums there have a buzz in that theres so many postings and news gos up there pretty fast, which is good, although little objectivityfrom most posters - tons of bias, fighter loving/hating - thats whats good about this forum that people can be more unbiased.

Arsenal · Post by **Arsenal** » 06 Mar 2006, 14:56

What makes me laugh about people saying Joe was holding is they forget that Joe dropped in his hands in Rds 1 and 2 and traded with Lacy to show he wasn't scared. So why didn't Lacy KO him then? Holding no. Boxing know how yes! Tying someone up on the inside is nothing new. Yet some are trying to compare him to Ottke!

Joe boxed and danced but he stood there in front of Lacy sometimes and traded. Lacy just got taught a lesson.

Arsenal · Post by **Arsenal** » 06 Mar 2006, 15:05

By the way the report is crap. A few things to say about it. Firstly its funny how he points out Lacy's FOUR good punches in the whole fight. Secondly when a boxer complains to the ref you know he's getting beat and finally what about Lacy HOLDING, not tying up, Calzaghe in the last two rds when he was close to being stopped. I think the biggest thing the ref done wrong was not stopping the fight!