BILOXI, Miss. (July 18, 2009) – In “Hook City,” two of boxing’s dominating left hookers, 8-time world champion Roy Jones Jr. and 2-time world champion Jeff Lacy, go to battle on Saturday, August 15 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi to determine the most powerful hooker and the NABO Light Heavyweight Champion. “Hook City,” presented by Square Ring Promotions in association with Left Hook Promotions and Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, will be broadcast live on pay-per-view. “Hook City” tickets, priced at $150, $125, $100, $75, $50 & $25 are on sale and available at the MS Coast Coliseum Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, by calling Ticketmaster at 800.745.3000 or on-line at Ticketmaster.com..
“I have watched Lacy throughout his career,” said Jones. “I know he will come to fight just as I will. We are both power punchers with both hands so this should make for a great match-up. There is going to be all these hooks, but on August 15, I, ‘Captain Hook’ will prove to be the better hooker..”
“I’ve been a fan of Roy Jones Jr. for a long time,” said Lacy. “He’s one of the great fighters and has challenged all fighters. Roy is still one of the most feared fighters in the game and like myself, loves to fight the best in the business. We both come to fight and that will make it one of the most exciting fights of the year. I’m looking forward to August 15.”
“We are very excited to be promoting “Hook City” on August 15 in Biloxi to settle the question, once and for all, of who is the best professional hooker in the sport of boxing,” said John S. Wirt, CEO of Square Ring Promotions. “While Jeff claims to have the best left hook, come the morning of the 16th, I think he may well be in the market for a new ring name.”
It wasn’t that long ago that Roy Jones Jr. (53-5, 39 KOs), born and bred in Pensacola, FL, was the consensus “pound-for-pound” champion. Jones blew through the 90s and well into the 21st Century in unstoppable fashion, stunning his opponents with blinding quickness and brutal power, winning world titles at middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight. Among his prey were the top names in the sport, including Bernard Hopkins, James “Lights Out” Toney, Mike McCallum and Lou DelValle.
Jones made history on March 1, 2003 when he stymied then-heavyweight champion John Ruiz to become the first former middleweight champion to win the heavyweight title in more than 100 years. Following the Ruiz triumph, Jones next planned foe was to be “Iron” Mike Tyson, but the deal fell through and Roy lost twenty-five pounds of solid muscle in six weeks to drop not one, but two weight classes to regain the light heavyweight championship from Florida rival and nemesis Antonio Tarver on November 8, 2003 in an unprecedented feat. No one had ever won world titles at middleweight through heavyweight then returned to light heavyweight to win the world title once again.
The weight loss eventually took a toll on Jones’ body and he lost consecutive bouts against Tarver (twice) and Glen Johnson. Down, but not out, Jones came back to score wins in his next two fights, setting up a highly-anticipated dual with Puerto Rican legend Felix “Tito” Trinidad at Madison Square Garden on January 19, 2008. A renewed Jones was sharp and focused, flooring Trinidad twice, in capturing a hard fought unanimous win.
In his next bout, on November 8, 2008 in “Battle of the Superpowers,” Jones fought undefeated and the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Joe Calzaghe. Jones started out strong, knocking Calzaghe down with a left-right combination in the first round and had “Super” Joe practically out on his feet. To his credit, Calzaghe mustered the strength to get through the round, gaining strength in the next few rounds until Jones rocked him in the sixth with a deadly uppercut. The fight made a significant turn in the seventh when Jones was cut for the first time in his career from a Calzaghe right hand. Jones’ pace had slowed considerably as his corner was unable to stop the bleeding and the steady stream of blood running over his eye was wreaking havoc on his vision and Calzaghe went on to win a unanimous decision. Roy rebounded quickly, this time with a fifth-round stoppage of Omar Sheika on March 21 in front of a full house at the Pensacola Civic Center to win the NABO light heavyweight crown. It was the fist time Sheika had been stopped in his professional career.
Jeff “Left Hook” (25-2, 17 KOs) from St. Petersburg, FL has brought fear to his foes throughout his nine-year professional career. It all began on January 13, 2001 when Jeff was to make his professional debut along with a group of fellow 2000 USA Olympic boxing team members. His scheduled opponent bolted the building undetected after witnessing the rock-solid Lacy get on the scales. His pro debut was delayed, but a legend born, without a ‘left hook’ being thrown. One month later on February 2, Lacy did make his pro debut in stunning fashion with a KO one minute and nine seconds into the fight. The powerful Lacy went on to win his first eight bouts by knockout, six of them in the first round. The “young” Lacy continued his decimation of the super middleweight division and on November 9, 2002, in just his twelfth professional fight in less than three years, won the WBC Continental Americas title with a unanimous decision against thirty-two fight veteran Ross Thompson. On July 15, 2003 Lacy added the USBA and NABA super middleweight titles with a win over Richard Grant.
On October 2, 2004, in his only his 17th professional bout, Lacy became the International Boxing Federation (IBF) Super Middleweight Champion by stopping Syd Vanderpool (TKO 8). Lacy made four successful defenses of the IBF title, including a wing over Omar Sheika, while adding the International Boxing Organization (IBO) title on November 5, 2008 with a second round knockout of Scott Pemberton. Lacy then challenged fellow undefeated nine-year champion Joe Calzaghe on March 4, 2006 in what was to be the biggest professional fight for each. The bout took place in the United Kingdom and Lacy succumbed to “Super Joe” Calzaghe in a decision for his first loss.
Lacy rebounded with four consecutive wins prior to battling former Undisputed Middleweight Champion Jermain Taylor on November 15, 2008. Lacy lost a decision against Taylor but rebounded quickly, winning his last fight on April 10, 2009 against Otis Griffin in front of his hometown fans at the Sun Dome in Tampa, FL.
Jones is currently rated No. 2 by the WBO, No. 4 by the IBF and No. 6 by the WBA at light heavyweight. Lacy, ranked No. 7 by the WBO at light heavyweight and No. 5 by the IBF and No. 7 by the WBC at super middleweight, moves up to fight at light heavyweight for the fist time.
In a 12-round featured bout Danny “Green Machine” Green (26-2, 23 KOs), the pride of Australia, battles South American light heavyweight king Julio Cesar “La Furia” Dominguez (20-4-1, 14 KOs) for the vacant International Boxing Organization (IBO) cruiserweight crown. Green, former World Boxing Association Light Heavyweight Champion, fights in the United States for only the second time and Dominguez has won the WBA Intercontinental and South American Light Heavyweight crowns.
Lightweight contender Verquan “The Show” Kimbrough (21-1-2, 7 KOs), former NABA and USBA champion, is also scheduled to fight on the PPV card in a 10-round bout.
The “Hook City” pay-per-view show is being distributed by Square Ring Promotions, Inc.
at 9:00PM ET/6:00PM PT in North America on cable and satellite via iNDemand, TVN,
DirecTV and Dish Network for a suggested retail price of $34.95.