Lacy and Raheem Shine in Decisive Manner

ShoBox Report and Review By Phillip Przybylo

31.03 - Finally, we are getting somewhere. Who would have guessed it would have been in Concho, OK, USA? In a Tony Holden Productions card featured on ShoBox, heralded prospect Jeff Lacy graduated Saturday afternoon after a tough ten round victory over Bobby Jones. Lacy, much like Olympic teammate Ricardo Williams Jr. did a month ago, sustained injuries in the middle of the fight only to impress spectators with a solid display of guts. Lacy is no longer a hot prospect, an attraction of sorts. He may be about a year away from taking a title, but he is now a threat to anyone in the super middleweight division.

Zahir Raheem also showed a fair amount of intestinal fortitude as he dominated Joe Morales to win the NABA featherweight crown. Raheem was forced to fight through a barrage of dirty tactics from the former champ. Whether it was being thrown down, being held and hit, or taking multiple kidney punches, the 1996 Olympian seemingly took it in stride. The sharp young champion is only a major step away from a match-up with one of the big five of the featherweight division (Barrera, Erik Morales, Hamed, Marquez, and Ayala).

Jeff Lacy vs. Bobby Jones

The first two rounds of the bout were filled with slower paced action by Lacy than fans had come to expect. Between ineffectual left-right combinations and occasional left bombs, Lacy looked determined to get some rounds in. By the time the fight was over, the man with the moniker "Left Hook" probably would have liked his usual in-and-out performances of past (he had never been past the third round).

The Olympian began to rock Jones repeatedly in the third stanza. Throwing combinations that were as dazzling to the eye as they were dizzying to Jones's head, Lacy almost had Jones out of it. Luckily for Jones, his mouthpiece fell out and there was a break in the action to save him. Even after the break, the undefeated star continued to throw bombs to head and body, including a unique six punch combination.

Round Four was a fateful one for "Left Hook" Lacy. Although an exact moment was hard to pinpoint for ringsiders, he had hurt both his hands. The rest of the round was so close that it could have conceivably been given to Jones, which would have been the first round dropped by Lacy. Both hands were hurting, but it was obvious that the left was the more injured of the two. With his most destructive weapon out of commission, Jeff turned up the heat in the fifth with his right hand.

Unfortunately, the inspiring fifth round was all Lacy could muster for the next nine minutes. Jones took rounds six and seven from the hurt and tiring warrior. Left-right combinations and uppercuts started landing with more regularity. Suddenly, people recognized what a real fight this had become.

Lacy again dug deep into his reservoir of courage and got himself going again in the eighth. He began rotating and turning his gloves in Mosley-like fashion, forcing himself to throw combinations. Jones may have been game, but he could not outgun Lacy down the stretch. Jones could come through the right handed firepower and land anything effective the last three rounds. In fact, in the tenth, Lacy seemed to be on the verge of pulling out a knockout to complete the motif on his record while throwing double and triple right hands. The cards read 96-94, 97-93, and 97-93. Eastside scored it 97-93. Lacy ups his record to 9-0, with 8 knockouts. Jones falls to 13-4.

Zahir Raheem vs. Joe Morales

The bout for NABA featherweight championship started with a painfully slow pace. Raheem shot out a crisp jab for much of the three rounds, while Morales could only charge and miss for most of the first fourth of the fight. Raheem eeked out most, if not all, of these rounds based on his accuracy.

The lackluster opening rounds were followed by an explosive fourth stanza. Raheem unleashed an awesome right-left-right combo to the head of Morales, stunning and then sending him down to canvas for the first time in his career. Raheem wasted no time in following up as he continued to pounce on his opponent and throw punches in bunches. Just when it looked like Morales was going down again, he pulled out some dirty tricks which would mar the fight.

In round four while in trouble, he threw multiple elbows into the side of Zahir's head. Round six saw him hitting on the break more often. The seventh saw Morales through repeated punches into Raheem's kidneys. The eighth round displayed the art of holding an opponent's head down and hitting. The tenth stanza provided the worst "trick" of them all: Morales blatantly threw Raheem down in a wrestling-like hip toss fashion, resulting in a deduction of a point.

Raheem rose above it, though. Flashy combinations and perfect timing enabled Zahir to win all but the last round in the last half of the fight. He could never quite get Morales to the point he had him in the fourth, but he put on quite a showcase of precise punching and ring generalship. Whether it was his throwing blazing quick right hand leads or the plethora of three and four punch combinations, watching Zahir Raheem in action is an amazing experience. Scores of 114-112, 118-108, and 119-107 were anti-climatic in crowning the new NABA champion who remains undefeated at 19-0. Eastside had it 118-108.

Conclusions

Longtime Eastside Boxing readers may know of my deep interest in the current crop of prospects, particularly the Olympic class of 2000. Shades of the make and styles Hall of Fame boxers and current champions are embedded into some of the best in the class. It is hard not to get excited about these up-and-comer's.

Jeff Lacy proved himself with his hard earned victory. Questions of stamina and defense have to be raised, though. Many times over the last half of the fight did his hands drop to his sides due to fatigue. His mouth was wide open quite frequently after the fifth round, making it clear that he was tiring. The lack of head movement was also prevalent. If Bobby Jones can land uppercut after uppercut on him, what will other top fighters do? With all that being said, Lacy may be second only to Ricardo Williams as far as the class of 2000 goes. He has a large array of punches and is not afraid to show them off in explosive Holyfield-like combinations.

Zahir Raheem has passed the "prospect phase" of his career as well. He squatted and moved like a right-handed Pernell Whitaker in a tough victory of his own. Raheem has more than enough style and just enough substance to make some noise in the featherweight division. And while he may have been in Sweet Pea-like playful mood, the way he commands the action in the ring is more reminiscent of "The Flushing Flash" Kevin Kelley. Whether he can become one of the most respected lower weight class champions that Kelley was remains to be seen. But he is not too far off from getting the opportunity.

Questions or comments? Write to the author at: eastside_double_p@hotmail.com