Hey, it's a slow news period and I'll be out of commission for the weekend, so let's get some discussion going.
Roy Jones Jr. v. Jeff Lacy (12 Rounds, Light Heavyweights)
40-year old Jones (53-5, 39 KO) is at the point where a single "audition" fight against an Omar Sheika-level guy just isn't enough to land him a big fight anymore. For one, there's almost no interest in the faded superstar from HBO or Showtime, and for another thing, he's just not that good anymore and isn't much of a draw. He and Lacy (25-2, 17 KO) have done quite well promoting this show, which will be available on gofightlive.tv as well as normal PPV. The idea to pair with gofightlive.tv was a good one; if I wanted to, I couldn't order Hook City at home. Comcast only has four PPV channels here, and Pinoy Power 2 has a spot. This does not. Kind of gives me some pause for September 19 when Mayweather-Marquez and UFC 103 will be going head-to-head.
Lacy is 32 years old and teetering on the edge of irrelevance. Jones is close to retirement simply on age if not quite from a standpoint of desire or even common sense. Roy wants another big fight. Should he win this one over Lacy, he'll probably look for someone bigger. Problem is, there really isn't a lot out there. There's the Dawson-Johnson winner, I guess, and there's always Bernard Hopkins, but that fight is not happening.
It's also worth noting that Jones does have an agreement to fight Danny Green in Australia should both win on Saturday, but frankly, I'll believe that when I see it.
Lacy has struggled mightily in the last few years. Since he was obliterated by Joe Calzaghe in 2006, he hasn't had one convincing victory. Part of his problem has been a shoulder injury that has taken away the punch that gave him his nickname. The likes of Vitali Tsypko, Peter Manfredo Jr., Epifanio Mendoza and Otis Griffin have had solid arguments for beating Lacy in close losses, and he lost wide to former Olympic teammate and friend Jermain Taylor last November.
What this fight does have is unpredictability. Those that think Jones will cruise may be very surprised. Jones isn't as fast as he looked against Sheika, who hadn't fought in 17 months and had been in the ring just once since 2005. He's also still got that bad habit of leaving his hands down, but he's not as sharp as he used to be getting away from incoming shots.
Now, Lacy is no dynamo either. He still has some pop; he had Taylor down but the referee inaccurately ruled it a slip, and JT was in real trouble for a bit. Jones has always had a suspect chin, even at his best.
Yes, Jones, even at his advanced age, should be able to outbox Jeff Lacy. But if he gets caught at any point, all bets are off. Lacy's aggression is gone, his left hook is gone, and his right hand just isn't that good and never was. Jones is old. Lacy isn't much to write home about, period. It's a fight that probably doesn't mean a whole lot at all, but I think it's a bit of a toss-up.
Pick: Jones UD-12, but he gets in trouble and maybe even tastes canvas (Lacy stoppage would not shock me, but the smarter money is on Jones)
Undercard: BJ Flores should cruise to a win over Epi Mendoza, a career middleweight/super middleweight, but I'll be rooting for the Mendoza upset ... Danny Green is the heavy favorite over Juan Carlos Dominguez for a reason ... Jason Litzau was promising until Jose Andres Hernandez drilled him in 2006, and Robert Guerrero destroyed him last year. Lucky for Litzau, Verquan Kimbrough is no Guerrero at least, but Litzau is a fringe contender at best.