In Boxing News: Calzaghe Sees Lacy Flaws

The Western Mail finds Joe Calzaghe in a confident mood ahead of his March 4th showdown with Jeff Lacy (Showtime Boxing): Lacy is a very good fighter, but I’ve seen flaws and the only way he can beat me if he hits the lottery and catches me with a big punch. I’ve got a great chin, but that is his only chance. He can’t out-box me so he’s got to go looking for a lottery ticket. I’ve got the hand speed and tools to beat him, but I’ve got to be careful I don’t get too much of an adrenalin rush. If I keep my range and stay offensive - like I did in the Omar Sheika fight, which was probably my best performance - and use my boxing skills then I should be fine. He’ll be waiting for me to load up with the left, so he can land that big right-hand shot over the top. I’ve been caught with that in the past, so I’ve got to make sure that doesn’t happen, but I know he doesn’t like southpaws. I’ve heard it said that I was chicken and I didn’t want to want to fight Lacy, but those things just make me more determined to win. In fact, most of those quotes seem to have been taken from a video interview with Calzaghe that can be seen at BBC (Real Media). The Press Association reports that both both Joe Calzaghe and Ricky Hatton are intent on making 2006 a massive year for British boxing fans by establishing themselves as undisputed world champions.

Cruiserweight Dale Brown has hit back at comments by new undisputed cruiserweight champion O’Neil Bell that the Brown was shying away from a rematch: I was never offered a rematch. People know if I was offered a rematch it would have happened. Brown is unhappy about the comments and insists that he has been campaigning for a rematch ever since their May meeting, which many (perhaps most) felt Brown won.

Robert Mladinich always comes up with unique angles for his columns and today writes about the NBA’s Stephon Marbury, who was in attendance at the Judah-Baldomir card. Among Marbury’s insights on the sweet science, he likes Wright over Taylor in their mooted middleweight showdown: Jermain’s not a fraud, but I pick Winky to outthink him and wear him down. Fighting Winky is like going against North Carolina when they go full court. They turn offense into defense and hold the ball for so long you never know what’s coming next.

John Duddy aims to start where he left off in 2005. But the weekend defeat of World welterweight champion Zab Judah in the Garden at the hands of Carlos Baldomir reminded Duddy of the pitfalls in boxing: I have always said that I have to deal with the next fight and not look beyond it and I know that the Garden fight (in March against Yori Boy Campas) is going to be very big but I have to deal with the February 4 fight first. I watched Judah lose his world title and that just reminded me that you can’t take anything for granted in this business. He didn’t look properly prepared to me and he paid the price.

Speaking of Judah, Bobby Cassidy Jr. examines the fallout from Saturday’s fights at MSG … When three of Don King’s champions lose and a multi-million dollar purse gets snatched from the jaws of victory, the aftershock goes a long way. Cassidy lists seven questions posed by the night of boxing, the first being: Will Zab Judah ever fight Floyd Mayweather Jr.? Though he goes on to answer six of seven (Did Don King actually cause the Johnstown flood is still pending) Cassidy Jr. concedes he is not a rocket scientist, but merely a man among sweet scientists. That being said, he does a nice job of answering some questions that are on the minds of many boxing fans.

Kelly Pavlick reportedly will not be appearing on the Pacquiao-Morales undercard due to a hand injury. Pavlick recently commented on his promoter, Bob Arum’s, remarks that Pavlick suffers from racism in boxing because he is a white fighter: I didn’t want to make it into a racial issue. Mr. Arum took care of that. Everybody can see his point, though. It’s true. You see any article on me, the fact that I’m white is always mentioned. If I’m compared to Tommy Hearns, I’m the white Tommy Hearns. I think so many white fighters in the past have been great white hopes, and they almost always come up short. I think networks might hold back because of that. Taking a different tact, HBO’s Larry Merchant had a unique take on the racism issue: Now, if [Arum] had said no one believes a white guy from the Midwest can fight, you might have to think about it for a while. When’s the last time you saw a white fighter from the Midwest who wasn’t being used as an [easy] opponent to build up someone’s record? If he’d said that, there might be some justifiable skepticism. This guy might be an exception, though. It looks like he can fight, he wants to fight — and he can punch.

(As always … more Boxing News Links at TheSweetScience.com)