By Jim Dower: Former International Boxing Federation (IBF) super middleweight champion Jeff Lacy (24-2, 17 KOs) steps back in the ring on April 10th against journeyman Otis Griffin (19-4, 7 KOs) at the Sun Dome, in Tampa, Florida. Lacy, 31, lost his last fight, a 12-round unanimous decision to Jermain Taylor in a WBC Super Middleweight Title Eliminator in November 2008.
The loss was a one-sided defeat for Lacy, and he never was competitive from the start. Lacy, ranked number #8 in the IBF super middleweight division, is being considered for a potential bout with Roy Jones Jr. in a few months from now.
However, Lacy is going to have to make sure that nothing goes wrong in his fight with Griffin on the 10th, otherwise Lacy can forget about a fight with Jones Jr. Three years ago that wouldn’t have been the case of Lacy, because back then he was one of the most feared fighters in boxing.
After a loss to Joe Calzaghe, a particularly bad one-sided affair, Lacy seemed to change as a fighter, becoming much less dangerous. An injury to Lacy’s left shoulder which required surgery in December 2006 further had the effect of eroding Lacy’s ability. Although he’s slowly getting more power in his once dangerous left hook, it’s clearly not the same as it once was.
Griffin, 31, will be coming into the April 10th fight with Lacy having lost three out of his last four fights, all three by knockouts against Danny Green, Jesse Brinkley and Enad Licina. If there’s anything good to say about the defeats it’s that Griffin has at least lost to good fighters.
However, the losses suggests that Griffin has reached his ceiling in terms of his level of ability, and he needs to consider moving down a level or two to match his own ability.
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