View Full Version : so why exactly were people picking lacy to beat calzaghe???
Relentless
02-20-2008, 07:42 PM
back then, i picked calzaghe because i didn't see or know much about lacy, the only thing i knew was he was a hard puncher and the only fight i saw of his was the pemberton fight, he came out swinging and caught pemberton, i knew calzaghe would kick his ass but i didn't know it would be this bad.
so why exactly was he so hyped? was it because he was an undfeated american?
PrideOfWales
02-20-2008, 07:44 PM
The highlight reel knockdowns. The big muscular frame. The (supposed) weak division he was (supposedly) walking through. Out of the ring he was a nice guy. He was on Showtime in the States. He was young. It was an American thing.
Undefeated, roids, gym rat, Tyson-esque, Yank, overrated European bum
It was a no brainer on paper
RUSKULL
02-20-2008, 07:45 PM
back then, i picked calzaghe because i didn't see or know much about lacy, the only thing i knew was he was a hard puncher and the only fight i saw of his was the pemberton fight, he came out swinging and caught pemberton, i knew calzaghe would kick his ass but i didn't know it would be this bad.
so why exactly was he so hyped? was it because he was an undfeated american?
Yes. That and all the comparisions to Tyson, etc. I liked watching his earlier fights & I still like watching him fight even without that aura of invinsibility.
SugarShane_24
02-20-2008, 07:45 PM
Because he's the only top American supermiddle who is exciting and can compete at the top of the 168 division. The division is mostly dominated by Euro's.
Amsterdam
02-20-2008, 07:45 PM
back then, i picked calzaghe because i didn't see or know much about lacy, the only thing i knew was he was a hard puncher and the only fight i saw of his was the pemberton fight, he came out swinging and caught pemberton, i knew calzaghe would kick his ass but i didn't know it would be this bad.
so why exactly was he so hyped? was it because he was an undfeated american?
Because Calzaghe was underrated back then because fans and analysts generally suck at analysing and critiquing a fighters skill and ability correctly. They felt Calzaghe fought nobody, which simply was not the case and Calzaghe had been having chronic hand problems up until that point.
Lacy on the other hand was heavily marketable and entertaining and brought the KO's.
Do the math.
Back before that fight happened I made a thread on here saying that Calzaghe was going to wipe him out on the inside, everyone laughed and made comments like 'that fraud even got KD'd by Mitchell, Lacy's gonna starch him'.
Oh well.
thewoo
02-20-2008, 07:46 PM
For starters people in the states had seen very little of calzage. he had a reputation for being a scared little bitch that was scared to take on tough fights and on paper looked like another euro bum with a padded record.
Secondly those of us that had seen lacy had seen him steamroll through everyone. It was obvious that Joe was a more rounded fighter but the concensus was that Jeff would be too physical for him and that Joe would not be able to hang in there with him and withstand his power. Little did we know that lacy's power would not be a factor as he would only land about 2 shots throughout the entire 12 rounds.
For those of you that say it was just an american thing I would like to point out that even in the UK Lacy was the favorite.
hitman6616
02-20-2008, 07:46 PM
because 90 percent of the people on this site have NEVER seen Joe fight and if they have it was ONCE:deal
Relentless
02-20-2008, 07:47 PM
man i badly regret not placing a bet on this fight.
Max Molyneux
02-20-2008, 07:48 PM
Never seen a such a beating.
Insane how his corner didn't pull Lacy out
well... i was flipping through my old magazines and KO Boxing i think it was had a prediction of upcoming fights section.. and they showcase all these things about the fighters, past, present, tools, strengths, weaknesses, ect...
They picked lacy, saying a few years ago things might have been differant, but at this stage lacy just wears JC out or something like that.
Lets not forget the beating Lacy but on a very decent, though past it, Reid...
so for the people who come in after the fact saying they dont see how lacy would win, it wasnt just FANS that thought that, it was writers and magazines too. Lacy was no pushover, a young, aggresive power puncher... and JC was aging and considered maybe past it and a bit protected.
Paulie
02-20-2008, 07:49 PM
Simply because Calzaghe had not fight anyone very good at that point of his career...
A prime Reid would beat Lacy's ass no problem
Anybody that read anything into that was a major spastic
PrideOfWales
02-20-2008, 07:52 PM
Calzaghe also looked poor in a few fights before the Lacy fight (Ashira & Salem) so people in the UK thought Joe was on the slide.
surreal deal
02-20-2008, 08:17 PM
Overhyped HBO CHAMP.
IF he was from Denmark,he'd be Euro champ now and the US would assume he was shit/and or not give a rats arse about him.
Not an anti Lacey or US thing,just a simple fact.
Shane
02-20-2008, 08:24 PM
back then, i picked calzaghe because i didn't see or know much about lacy, the only thing i knew was he was a hard puncher and the only fight i saw of his was the pemberton fight, he came out swinging and caught pemberton, i knew calzaghe would kick his ass but i didn't know it would be this bad.
so why exactly was he so hyped? was it because he was an undfeated american?
Undefeated and a Huge puncher, Let me add that i think that Power is still hugely overrated in boxing.
Calzaghe vs Lacy is a perfect example of this.
Sure power is a great attribute to have, but i will take agility, speed, and technical ability over power any day.
Punisher33
02-20-2008, 08:25 PM
I didnt know much about Calzaghe, all I knew was he practically fought nobodys in his nearly 10 reign as a WBO champ leading up to the fight, and Lacy was overhyped by Showtime and other boxing sites. It was an easy pic for Americans to pick Lacy to win.
Bodysnatcher
02-20-2008, 08:43 PM
The funny thing is, most well-respected boxing experts were picking Lacy.
Emmanuel Steward comes to mind.
James Toney even stated it was a mis-match...because Calzaghe was so clearly not in Lacy's league.
Do a google of some online boxing sites and you'll see a massive consensus of opinion that went: Lacy will win and win well.
I just think America was so desperate for a new Tyson they jumped on the first KO artist that came along without being too analytical about it.
Don't listen to anyone who tries to tell you Lacy was an obscure unknown when Calzaghe fought him. That's Lacy amnesia syndrome, and symptoms also include statements like `I always knew Jeff was overrated` and `I picked Calzaghe`.
Yeah, right.
daprofessor
02-20-2008, 08:55 PM
back then, i picked calzaghe because i didn't see or know much about lacy, the only thing i knew was he was a hard puncher and the only fight i saw of his was the pemberton fight, he came out swinging and caught pemberton, i knew calzaghe would kick his ass but i didn't know it would be this bad.
so why exactly was he so hyped? was it because he was an undfeated american?
for me it was the opposite...i had only seen calzaghe a few times against limited opposition. i wasn't exactly high on lacy....i thought he was overrated as well. i thought lacy had enough to beat joe. joe showed me otherwise. i think the lacy win and kessler win are his best....i've come to realize joe has a lot of tools and is a very intelligent fighter...but i am still not impressed with his opposition. the bhop win will be nice on his resume...but it really won't be significant. i'd like to see him fight someone like dawson, pavlik or even taylor. i think he'll beat pavlik and taylor...dawson might be trouble.
Overhyped HBO CHAMP.
IF he was from Denmark,he'd be Euro champ now and the US would assume he was shit/and or not give a rats arse about him.
Not an anti Lacey or US thing,just a simple fact.
he fought on showtime numbnuts :good
TRUEBELIEVER 66
02-21-2008, 01:06 AM
Because Lacy was over-rated, as hell, just like Miranda before Pavlik beat his ass, people are ignorant, they believe just because a guy has Muscles and has kicked over a bunch of Tomato cans, that he's invincible:huh
I;ll take the slick boxer and technician any day of the week..
Farmboxer
02-21-2008, 04:27 AM
TV fights made Lacy look invincible, he was supposed to scare his opponents to death and punch harder than anyone in that divsion.
Rise Above
02-21-2008, 04:30 AM
Because he is American.
Boom_Boom
02-21-2008, 04:48 AM
no one knew anything about Calzaghe, and Reid was a factor;Calzaghe mildly beat him whereas Lacy destroyed him, plus Lacy was overhyped he was on the cover on ESPN magazine for crying out loud.
Maxime
02-21-2008, 04:49 AM
back then, i picked calzaghe because i didn't see or know much about lacy, the only thing i knew was he was a hard puncher and the only fight i saw of his was the pemberton fight, he came out swinging and caught pemberton, i knew calzaghe would kick his ass but i didn't know it would be this bad.
so why exactly was he so hyped? was it because he was an undfeated american?
I think it was more about Calzaghe doing nothing worth mentionning for years. People saw Lacy as the savior of the division. He was a young exciting undefeated american power puncher.
Arran
02-21-2008, 05:04 AM
I created the thread ''Lacy will get annihilated'' most of you laughed....
I remember, Arran's memory IS correct.. *holy crap, I agree with Arran*
Anyhow. Yeah, Calzaghe is accomplished, but at the same time, and at that time.. He was one of those fighters who fought nobody, and really appeared to be a guy who never went out of his way to fight anybody reputable. Lets put it this way, After he fought and defeated Lacy, Lacy was the best opponent he had faced in his career.
I'm not trying to take anything away from Calzaghe. I think he's a great fighter. But seriously, it took him fucking long enough to bother fighting anybody with a name.
MancMexican
02-21-2008, 05:25 AM
If Calzaghe hadn't annihilated Lacy (beating, winning, owning, savaging, brutalising aren't strong enough words for it) then Joe beating Kessler wouldn't be such a big win. Because Americans wouldn't have taken any interest in the Kessler as someone to potentially dethrone Calzaghe and would be now regarded as just a 'euro-level' fighter.
And that fact can be used to explain how Joe's resume is viewed by a lot of Americans. Because they don't know much about the fighters he beat they aren't considered good wins. Just because you only know the shot Robin Reid who got beat up by Lacy doesn't mean Calzaghe beating a prime Reid isn't a great win.
And, lets not forget people, Eubank may have been past his best when Calzaghe won every round against him, but JC was FUCKING GREEN at the time!!!
Maxime
02-21-2008, 05:32 AM
I created the thread ''Lacy will get annihilated'' most of you laughed....
Well, it was laughable at the time. Calzaghe had done nothing in recent years that suggested he would beat Lacy the way he did.
With wins over guys like Miguel Angel Jimenez ([Only registered and activated users can see links]), Tocker Pudwill ([Only registered and activated users can see links]), Kabary Salem ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) (he was floored in that fight!), Evans Ashira ([Only registered and activated users can see links]).... you get the drift!?
Relentless
02-21-2008, 10:18 AM
Because Calzaghe was underrated back then because fans and analysts generally suck at analysing and critiquing a fighters skill and ability correctly. They felt Calzaghe fought nobody, which simply was not the case and Calzaghe had been having chronic hand problems up until that point.
Lacy on the other hand was heavily marketable and entertaining and brought the KO's.
Do the math.
Back before that fight happened I made a thread on here saying that Calzaghe was going to wipe him out on the inside, everyone laughed and made comments like 'that fraud even got KD'd by Mitchell, Lacy's gonna starch him'.
Oh well.
i remember a thread like that, cant remember by who though and i too laughed, i thought calzaghe was going to win but win by boxing from the outside, using alot of movements.
ApatheticLeader
02-21-2008, 10:20 AM
A prime Reid would beat Lacy's ass no problem
Anybody that read anything into that was a major spasticActually, Reid would have a big problem. I think Reid would win and all, but Reid was never that defensively savvy. Having said that, I predicted an easy Calzaghe victory against Lacy and those people who read into Lacy's crushing of Reid were dumb.
For those of you that say it was just an american thing I would like to point out that even in the UK Lacy was the favorite.
You're probably right there. I remember feeling fairly confident at the time, having seen Joe demolish all the American opponents they'd put in front of him, but in all honestly felt a bit worried for him. I knew little about Lacy beforehand, I only saw a few fights, and I specifically remember saying at the time "Joe can probably do this, but he's gotta careful with this one." After one or two rounds it was obvious Joe would decimate poor old Jeff.
Jeff has to be given credit. That's a tough guy right there who can take a HELL of a beating.
Arran
02-21-2008, 10:27 AM
He was favourite here becausae we were led to believe Lacy was the next coming of Tyson (he wasnt favourite at all bookmakers).
I created the thread ''Lacy will get annihilated'' most of you laughed....
I thought you were new here, having a join date of Jan 2008. My mistake.
I have been browsing these boards casually for about 4 years or so, only recently did I decide to get involved in the squabbling. :) I always swore to myself that I wouldn't. :!:
ThePlugInBabies
02-21-2008, 10:35 AM
I thought you were new here, having a join date of Jan 2008. My mistake.
I have been browsing these boards casually for about 4 years or so, only recently did I decide to get involved in the squabbling. :) I always swore to myself I wouldn't. :!:
arran gets banned on a regular basis. i believe only moralman has been banned more times.
arran gets banned on a regular basis. i believe only moralman has been banned more times.
Right. Gotcha.
The funny thing is, most well-respected boxing experts were picking Lacy.
Emmanuel Steward comes to mind.
James Toney even stated it was a mis-match...because Calzaghe was so clearly not in Lacy's league.
Do a google of some online boxing sites and you'll see a massive consensus of opinion that went: Lacy will win and win well.
I just think America was so desperate for a new Tyson they jumped on the first KO artist that came along without being too analytical about it.
Don't listen to anyone who tries to tell you Lacy was an obscure unknown when Calzaghe fought him. That's Lacy amnesia syndrome, and symptoms also include statements like `I always knew Jeff was overrated` and `I picked Calzaghe`.
Yeah, right.
spot on 100% :good
The thing is... i dont really think jeff was that overated, JC was just that good.... and jeff has gone horribly down since then. The pre JC jeff would have carved manfredo up in about 7 rounds imo... Lacy was the 3rd best (looking back) super middle in the world... i would have still picked kessler even over that lacy
Arran
02-21-2008, 10:45 AM
had like 6,7 maybe 8 bans.
Tunney5
02-21-2008, 10:46 AM
They were picking Lacy because they always underrate Joe Calzaghe.
He's still underrated. He should be #2 p4p instead of #5. He'll defeat Hopkins, but he'll never get the recognition he deserves because he's not American.
ApatheticLeader
02-21-2008, 10:48 AM
They were picking Lacy because they always underrate Joe Calzaghe.
He's still underrated. He should be #2 p4p instead of #5. He'll defeat Hopkins, but he'll never get the recognition he deserves because he's not American.He shouldn't be above either PBF or Pacquiao.
Boom_Boom
02-21-2008, 02:12 PM
If Calzaghe hadn't annihilated Lacy (beating, winning, owning, savaging, brutalising aren't strong enough words for it) then Joe beating Kessler wouldn't be such a big win. Because Americans wouldn't have taken any interest in the Kessler as someone to potentially dethrone Calzaghe and would be now regarded as just a 'euro-level' fighter.
:blood go on.....
It came at a point where the anti-Joe Calzaghe crew were at their most annoying, Calzaghe was older and pulling out of fights due to injury and was looking shit againsy Kabary Salem, who knocked him down, he also went 12 with a light middle in Ashira, albeit with a hand injury, then joe pulled out against Lacy and the Anti-joe Calzaghe crew grew bigger and bigger...meanwhile Jeff Lacy was on Showtime looking the part, knocking guys over and when he KOs Robin Ried a guy who held a Split Decision with Calzaghe, that was enough to sway people into believing Jeff Lacy was going to expose that Euro bum.
Lacy had some serious fans, i mean proper nut jobs, people picking him to beat Sam Peter at some point!
ps
its easy to sound clever AFTER the event.
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