Jeff Lacy vs. Otis Griffin overview

Former champion Jeff Lacy takes on Otis Griffin in a 10 round bout contracted for 173 pounds. Can Lacy make his way back to the top or does Griffin have something for him?

Lacy was once a highly regarded young champion but that now seems like a distant memory since he was white washed by Joe Calzaghe in 2006. Lacy has struggled since then in and out of the ring. He labored through wins over Vitali Tsypko, Peter Manfredo and Epifanio Mendoza. And in his last fight he was out boxed by former middleweight champ Jermain Taylor.

Griffin came to be known for winning a lower tiered version of the Contender series several years back. But in spite of that nice purse that came with winning that series, he is simply not a quality fighter. He has had struggles with a very ordinary lot of fighters and any time he stepped up in class, he has lost. But that’s not surprising because of the  way he’s been matched. It could be akin at to a baseball player having modest success in high school or on a lower level college team and then suddenly being brought up to the major leagues to face real pro’s. When he stepped up against Danny Green and Enad Licina, he was easily dismissed in 3 rounds. And the one time he took an moderate step up, he was turned back by Jesse Brinkley in 11 rounds.

I do think Lacy suffered a major blow to his confidence with the Calzaghe loss but I also think he was a bit over rated before that fight. I think he always would have struggled  very slick boxers like Calzaghe and Taylor but he was so dominating in some previous  bouts that many believed he could steamroll nearly anyone. But while Lacy may never sniff a title again, I think he is probably physically recovered from the Calzaghe fight and could  still probably be considered a top 15 type of guy. Lacy is physically strong, game, hits hard and takes a decent shot. He has been wobbled by some clean shots but he does know how to survive sketchy moments and he never stops trying.

Griffin is a guy that doesn’t bring much punching power to this fight and he’s not slick nor very quick. I see this fight as a Lacy showcase (Lacy is actually the promoter of the show) and he probably hasn’t had this soft an opponent in over 5 years. Of course the Lacy of 2004 dismisses Griffin within a few rounds. But the questions is can the 2009 Lacy do the same.

I think he can. This is an easier opponent than he’s seen in a while. And I think Lacy is still the same strong, physical fighter that he always was. And even though he lost widely to Taylor, he scored a knockdown (not called) in that fight and had some good moments in the match. He always came forward and Taylor seemed to fight a “scared” fight, meaning he held a lot and wasn’t too willing to mix it up with Lacy. Lacy came out it unscathed, unlike the Calzaghe debacle, and he still believes he has some business to do in boxing.

Lacy claims he injuries and losses are behind him and if so, should be able to roll through a guy like Griffin. Griffin seems to crumble when caught by a “real” guy and I believe when Lacy starts banging Griffins chrome dome, he’ll hit the floor. I’m looking for a Lacy win inside the distance, probably somewhere around the 5^th round.