Roy Jones Jr vs Jeff Lacy A “90-Percent Done Deal”

by James Slater – It’s likely both guys should have called it a day by now and retired from the ring, yet both all-time great Roy Jones Junior and former world champion Jeff Lacy continue in the search for glory. Now, according to a news article in The Tampa Tribune, the two men are very close to facing one another in the late summer of this year.

Lacy, from St. Petersburg, Florida and Jones, from Pensacola in The Sunshine State are, according to the news piece, “90-percent close to a done deal” with regards to fighting each other in August..

“I think we’re a couple of days away,” Lacy said. “Probably by Monday or Tuesday we’ll have everything settled and tacked down.”

Lacy, 25-2(17) will co-promote the bout under his Left Hook Promotions banner, with Jones’ Square Ring Promotions sharing the event.

Jones, 53-5(39) was ringside last month when Lacy out-pointed Otis Griffin, and after the 40-year-old had won his own last fight – by TKO over Omar Sheika – he talked about the possibility of facing the 32-year-old. Now it looks like the fight is a go. Who will win?

As said above, both men should really be enjoying their retirement years by now – Jones especially. Yet neither guy is what you could call shot either. It’s possible the two men would give us an interesting and fan-friendly affair if and when they clash. “Left Hook” fights at super-middleweight, while Jones, in all but one of his last nine fights, has operated at light-heavyweight. It’s possible then, that the two could meet at a catch-weight.

Jones still has flashes of his former brilliance, as he proved when downing Joe Calzaghe in the 1st round of their November 2008 contest, but he is so much easier to hit today compared to the days of his awesome prime. Some say Lacy has never fully recovered from his meeting with Calzaghe, when he was pounded mercilessly for all 12 rounds back in 2006. On balance, Jones, though the older man by almost a decade, probably has more left at this point.

On the other hand, Lacy has never been stopped; whereas Jones has twice been KO’d. Going into this fight, the former IBF 168-pound boss would likely feel a stoppage win would be a strong possibility for him. Something of a grudge-match, the mooted August showdown will surely be a big seller if it is staged in Florida.

We can expect an official announcement of the fight any time now it seems.