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St. Petersburg's Lacy falls to Russian
By JOHN ROMANO
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 26, 2000
SYDNEY, Australia -- It began as a punishment more than a dozen years ago, yet never before has it hurt Jeff Lacy quite so bad.
The St. Petersburg boxer was beaten 18-3 by Russia's Gaidarbek Gaidarbekov in a bout stopped in the third round in the quarterfinals of the middleweight class early today.
A dream he has spent the better part of a lifetime chasing will now elude him for the rest of his days. Lacy, 23, was brought to the boxing gym by his father as a punishment after getting into an elementary school fight.
The gym became his refuge, the Olympic medal his quest.
"My dream was to make the Olympic team, and my other dream was a gold medal. But not everybody can get what they want," Lacy said. "I'm very fortunate that I made it here. I'm very proud, and I'm walking out of the ring on my own strength."
In the marquee bout of the Games, Cuban heavyweight Felix Savon defeated Michael Bennett of the United States 23-8.
A victory over Gaidarbekov would have advanced Lacy to the semifinals, which is an automatic bronze medal in boxing, where two bronzes are awarded.
Gaidarbekov had a reach advantage against Lacy and kept him at a safe distance with an effective jab while running up a 5-0 lead in the first round. Lacy worked his way inside more in the second round but still struggled to connect.
"There was nothing wrong with me; he was just a very good boxer," Lacy said. "If I had to second-guess anything, I should have tried harder to go to the body and work my way up against him."
In his mind, Lacy could not be beaten. The strongest puncher on the U.S team, Lacy always believed he was one punch from solving any problem.
By the third round, he knew he was trailing badly on points and began looking for the one big punch to take Gaidarbekov out. But a bout is stopped on an outclassed decision once a fighter falls 15 points behind.
"I don't like that rule because a puncher always has a chance to win, and I'm a puncher," Lacy said. "If I didn't get him in the third round, I might have been able to take him out in the fourth."
His dream is over, but his career is just beginning. Boxing observers have always believed Lacy would make a more successful professional than amateur because his power would be better served in a pro setting.
Lacy, who declined to turn pro after missing the Olympics in 1996, said the Olympic loss was the last fight of his amateur career.
"Everybody was hollering, "Pro, pro, Jeff Lacy, pro,' " Lacy said. "So I'm going to give them what they want."
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