|
Holyfield pep talkspurs Lacy
By JOHN ROMANO
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 22, 2000
SYDNEY, Australia -- For years, Jeff Lacy has studied videotapes of Evander Holyfield's fights, picking up whatever lessons he could from the former heavyweight champion. Late Thursday night, Lacy got his lesson in person.
Holyfield went to Lacy's dressing room before his second-round bout to give the St. Petersburg boxer a pep talk and strategy session.
"I let him know that the way to win at this game is to outwork your guy," Holyfield said. "If you think you've got a lead and you start to rest, the guy hits you with two or three punches and all of the sudden you lose. The only way you know you've won is when they raise your arm after the fight.
"I was glad he listened to me and kept the pressure on."
Lacy kept the pressure on from beginning to end, beating Poland's Pawel Kakietek 21-7 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Like Holyfield said, Lacy continued coming after his opponent. He scored a knockdown with 56 seconds remaining on a left cross.
"Evander Holyfield has always been my favorite," Lacy said. "Everything he does is wonderful. I've watched all of his fights. Watching Holyfield is like watching my favorite TV show."
The score was tied 2-2 when Lacy scored with an overhand right and sent Kakietek into the ropes with a series of combination punches. Lacy scored five unanswered points in the final 20 seconds to end the round ahead 7-2.
A straight right backed Kakietek up in the second round as Lacy built his lead to 11-3.
Lacy knocked Kakietek down with a left with 56 seconds remaining in the bout.
"When I'm in shape, I think I can beat anybody, and I'm shape now," Lacy said. "I feel it's going to be awfully hard for somebody to beat Jeff Lacy here."
The competition will get noticeably tougher for Lacy in the quarterfinals on late Monday night. He meets Russia's Gaidarbek Gaidarbekov, who beat the reigning world champion in the first round and won his second round bout 15-9 Thursday against Nigeria's Albert Eromosele.
Hungary's Zsolt Erdei, the 1997 world champion, also looms as a potential opponent for Lacy.
The United States lost its first Olympic boxer in a battle with Turkey. It lost its second in a battle with calories.
Lightweight David Jackson had to withdraw from the Olympics Thursday night when he was unable to make his weight for the 132-pound class.
Jackson, a 1997 U.S. champion, was making a comeback this year after personal problems forced him out of the sport for two years.
Back to Olympics
|
