It looks like all the political nonsense and bs has finally gotten to Jeff Lacy. According to reports started in the Tampa Tribune, Jeff Lacy has said he is retiring and that he is fed up with the sport. Lacy originally spoke through his advisers but has now come out himself and said the main reason is the money offered to him to fight Jermain Taylor. Winky Wright has come out and said that Jeff is just frustrated right now and that he’s not retiring. I believe Winky here. I’ve always loved Jeff Lacy and still do. I understand his frustration with the upcoming fight purse and believe he deserves more also. But I don’t believe he’s done. Lacy has been one of my favorite boxers to watch ever and it’s not just because he’s a St. Pete native. As he came up through boxing he was the closest thing to Mike Tyson in his prime that we’ve seen. He was a power punching, aggressive maniac in the ring and there was nothing boring about any match he was in. He dominated and punished anyone that he faced in the ring until that fight with Joe Calzaghe. Calzaghe took on Lacy and absolutely destroyed him for 12 rounds and Lacy hasn’t been the same since. He was beaten down, he’s had injuries and seemed to lose his aggressiveness. He has been slowly making his way back from the ‘06 defeat (his only loss by the way) and had set himself up for a fight with his former Olympic teammate Jermaine Taylor in November. He was apparently offered $500,000 to fight Taylor and, after his fight on Wednesday with Epifanio Mendoza, the purse was bumped up to $550,000. I think this all needs to be put into context here. Lacy was considered one of the best fighters in the world until that Calzaghe fight. He was paid a lot to fight in those days and since the beat down has taken a significant cut in purses, not to mention the pride that was hurt. He now comes off a fight in which he is upset about the shots to the back of the head the referee allowed or didn’t see, wins and is then offered $50,000 more to face a bigger name more dangerous fighter. You can understand why he is so upset about this when you look at it like this. I think this is a knee jerk reaction and I think he’ll fight Taylor. One thing he did say that I don’t agree with is that Taylor needs him more than he needs Taylor. No Jeff. You need this and you need to beat him in order to get your name back and your purses bigger. Taylor is a bigger name now with the Hopkins and Wright fights under his belt and you need his name notched in yours. I think Lacy will eventually settle down and fight Taylor in November, and if he doesn’t I know I’ll miss him. Come to your senses Jeff.

Scott Brannelly

Source:Tampa Tribune