By JOHN C. COTEY, Times Staff Writer
Published November 15, 2005
St. Petersburg's Jeff Lacy may unify the super-middleweight division yet.
After talks with light heavyweight champ Antonio Tarver went nowhere, Lacy, the IBF champion, and his team have settled on a showdown with WBO champion Joe Calzaghe .
After agreeing to the fight last week, the sides made it official Sunday, signing a deal that will bring Lacy to Calzaghe's hometown of Cardiff, Wales, on Feb.4 or March 4.
"It's a fight that Jeff wanted," promoter Gary Shaw said. "He said he would take Calzaghe or Tarver in either order."
Some wrangling over the weekend dealt with the size of the ring (Calzaghe's camp wanted 22 feet; they settled for 20) and who enters the ring first (Lacy will, but will be introduced last).
Lacy also got a $600,000 guarantee against Calzaghe canceling. The two were supposed to fight Nov.5 before Calzaghe broke his left hand beating Evans Ashira . That forced Lacy to take a fight against Scott Pemberton , who he blew out in two rounds.
The fight will be held at Millennium Stadium, a 74,500-seat site with a retractable roof that will be configured to seat around 30,000.
"This is the fight that Joe, the media and the fans wanted and I am absolutely delighted that following some hard work over the last few days the fight is on," British promoter Frank Warren said. "It will be the biggest fight of the year in Britain and certainly one of the most highly anticipated fights on the world scene in recent years."
Like the Ricky Hatton - Kostya Tszyu junior welterweight title fight in England earlier this year, Lacy-Calzaghe is scheduled to start around 2 a.m. British time so Showtime can show the fight in the United States live around 10.
Lacy (21-0, 17 KOs) is scheduled to fly to London next week for a news conference there and Cardiff Nov.21. Both fighters have news conferences scheduled for early December in New York and Tampa.
Calzaghe (40-0, 31 KOs) has made 17 consecutive title defenses, the most by any current champion.
SENIOR TOUR: Tarver continues to insist his proposal to fight Mike Tyson is a serious one and building steam.
Which makes one wonder: why?
Tarver has the IBO belt, but apparently is gunning for the AARP title as well.
Tyson is 39 and years past his prime. James Toney , No.2 on his wish list, is 37. And Vitali Klitschko just retired.
Nevertheless, Tyson appears to be interested, according to an interview on boxingtalk.com over the weekend, and trainer Jeff Fenech said on the Web site he'd return to boxing to get him ready.
Tarver told the Times last week that he has guaranteed the cash-strapped Tyson $6-million for the fight.
"I called Mike on his cell and he called me back and we talked," Tarver said. While acknowledging that Tyson has been knocked out or quit his last two fights against Danny Williams and Kevin McBride , "this time, he doesn't have to face some giant. That gives Mike Tyson a real chance. That is what sells. Mike Tyson is one of the biggest names in the boxing world, ever."
Tarver is shrewdly avoiding any fights with more deserving opponents to face another big name who has seen better days. Remember, when they say it's all about the legacy, what they really mean is it's all about the money.
