LAS VEGAS, NV (November 28, 2004) “ He was the first member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic team to win a world title and now undefeated IBF super middleweight champion JEFF “LEFT HOOK” LACY will become the first member of that same Olympic team to defend a world title “ all within an eight-week span! Lacy and his trainer, Dan Birmingham, are scheduled to arrive in Las Vegas Today! as they conclude their final week of preparation.
Promoted in association with Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, Lacy, 17-0 (14 KOs), from St. Petersburg, FL will defend his title against two-time world title challenger OMAR SHEIKA, 27-6 (17 KOs), from Paterson, NJ, in the co-main event to the José Luis Castillo “ Joel Casamayor WBC lightweight championship, This Saturday! at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. Both fights will be televised on SHOWTIME Championship Boxing beginning at 9 P.M. ET / 9 P.M. PT.
Lacy captured the vacant world title via an eighth-round technical knockout over No. 1 contender and two-time world title challenger Syd Vanderpool, October 2, in Las Vegas. Vanderpool, 35-3, who went the distance against world middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins, had more than twice as many professional fights than Lacy. Yet it was Lacy who showed the poise and maturity of a veteran as he methodically broke down Vanderpool, ending his three-year, seven-bout winning streak “ five by knockout. This was the first time Vanderpool had ever been knocked out in his professional career.
“That victory was my Olympics, my gold medal,” said Lacy. “Now it is time to give my new title a spin around the block. I could not wait to get back in the gym and prepare for my first title defense. And I cannot wait to enter the ring at Mandalay Bay, this Saturday, being introduced as the world champion for the very first time.”
Birmingham is looking to soldify his shot as “Trainer of the Year,” where he is already 3-0 in world title fights this year. He prepared Winky Wright for his historic victory over Sugar Shane Mosley in March, making Wright not only the first undisputed super welterweight champion in 29 years, but the first and only 154 pound champion to leave the ring wearing all three major world title belts. Birmingham and Mosley retained the world super welterweight title by winning a majority decision over Mosley in their November 20 rematch at Mandalay Bay. Birmingham was also Lacy’s trainer when he won the IBF super middleweight title in October.
Sheika, the IBF’s No. 14-rated contender, returns to the ring riding a three-fight winning streak. His resume boasts a victory over Glecoffe Johnson, the reigning IBF light heavyweight champion who knocked out Roy Jones, Jr. in his recent title defense.