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Some people avoid fighting at all costs. FishHawk resident Jeff "Left Hook" Lacy has made it a career…and a very profitable one at that.
Lacy, originally from St. Petersburg, began training at the age of eight, when his father, who couldn't get his son to avoid fighting, sent him to a gym.
Two decades of training, conditioning, self-discipline and determination later, Lacy now holds super middleweight titles in the International Boxing Organization (IBO) and International Boxing Federation (IBF). His fights have been televised on Showtime's pay-per-view channel.
A member of the 2000 Olympic boxing team, Lacy started fighting professionally more than four years ago and in the IBF, has a 20-0 record with an amazing 16 knockouts.
"When I hit someone and they go down it shows me how effective my training is," he said.
Fred Sternburg, Lacy's publicist, respects the young athlete for his determination. "He has had to sacrifice an awful lot to make the 2000 Olympic team as well as become World Champion," he said.
Sternburg jokes that he spends many hours conditioning and training. "The gym is his office," he said.
Lacy says dreams of a family are put on hold until he is the undisputed titleholder in his weight division. "Right now boxing is my love," he said.
"There are three other titles out there that I want to win," he remarked. Those titles include wins in the World Boxing Organization (WBO), World Boxing Association (WBA) and the World Boxing Council (WBC).
He will fight Joe Calzaghe, the WBO Super Middleweight Champion, on Saturday, November 5, in England.
For more information about Lacy visit www.garyshawproductions.com/boxing.
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