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Area's 'Big 3' Still Having Big Impact

Tribune photo by EDDIE DANIELS

St. Pete super middleweight Jeff Lacy holds an open workout in preparation for his April 10 fight against Otis Griffin.

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By EDDIE DANIELS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 5, 2009

TAMPA - Once again, the glare of the spotlight will tilt the way of Tampa Bay.

For the first time in two years, the Bay area's boxing "Big Three" - Jeff Lacy, Antonio Tarver and Winky Wright - will step in the ring in the same year. Sounds funny because each former world champion is known to stay busy, but the last time each fought in the same calendar year was 2007.

That year, Wright lost a unanimous decision to Bernard Hopkins in July; Tarver beat Danny Santiago via TKO in December; and Lacy beat Peter Manfredo Jr. on a unanimous decision a week later.

Friday, Lacy (24-2, 17 KOs) faces Otis Griffin (19-4-2, 7 KOs) at the University of South Florida Sun Dome. The following night in Las Vegas, Wright (54-4-1, 25 KOs), considered the most avoided fighter in the business, meets Paul Williams (36-1, 27 KOs), touted as the most feared boxer. Tarver (27-5, 19 KOs) fights Chad Dawson (27-0, 17 KOs) in a rematch May 9, also in Vegas.

"I think those three guys win," longtime Tampa trainer and promoter Pete Fernandez said. "And I think if they win, it's huge for boxing in the area. It gives the younger guys some type of incentive; 'I want to be a Jeff Lacy, I want to be Antonio Tarver, I want to be a Winky Wright.'"

Still Something To Prove

Ironically, each fighter is coming off a defeat.

Tampa's Tarver, 40, lost his IBF and IBO light heavyweight titles to Chad Dawson in October. St. Petersburg's Lacy, 31, lost a WBC super middleweight title eliminator to Jermain Taylor in November; and Wright, 37, also of St. Pete, hasn't fought since that 2007 loss to Hopkins.

Wright said the time off wasn't his doing. He chased fights against Kelly Pavlik, Arthur Abraham, Vernon Forrest and Mikkel Kessler. He even accepted a fight with Michi Munoz, but it was canceled after Wright injured his left hand while sparring.

"I don't feel rusty," said Wright, who held the IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO junior middleweight belts and was the first undisputed champion since 1975. He also has beaten Shane Mosley twice. "It has been a long time, but I feel good in the gym."

Tarver said he believes the level of recognition the fighters have gained and brought back to the Bay area won't be forgotten.

"At the end of the day, I think the cities of Tampa and St. Pete, they're going to love us regardless," said Tarver, who has beaten Roy Jones Jr. (twice), Glen Johnson and Eric Harding. "They know when it's time to let it all go, it's time. There's nothing we can do about it. We're going to have to pass the torch eventually, but we want to think, in our minds, that we still have what it takes and we're still able to compete with the very best in the world."

For each fighter, a loss will force them further behind a line of hungry fighters.

"None of us are perfect," said Lacy, who beat Syd Vanderpool for the then-vacant IBF super middleweight title and Robin Reid for the IBO belt. "We're going to make our mistakes. We're going to go through our ups and downs."

Growing Talent Pool

The Bay area is home to several in the fight game who have made names for themselves or are on the verge of boosting their status in the business. They include Nate Campbell, who lost his IBF, WBA and WBO lightweight titles on the scale. Although recently relocated to his hometown of Jacksonville, Campbell spent years living and boxing in Tampa.

There's also WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto (24-0, 19 KOs) of Winter Haven; Wauchula's Edner Cherry (24-6-2, 12 KOs), who has held five titles; St. Petersburg's Derrick Samuels (17-4-1, 5 KOs); and Clearwater's Keith Thurman (8-0, 8 KOs), who fights under Fernandez's StarFight Productions promotions company.

"The hottest prospect in boxing now is Keith Thurman," Fernandez said. "The talent is just as good here as it is anywhere else."

As for Lacy, Tarver and Wright, longtime HBO boxing analyst Jim Lampley said they already have made their marks on the area.

"These are three careers that are slowing down, and the moment when that synergy would have affected the audience was a few years ago," Lampley said. "I don't think you're going to see any seismic shift in the popularity of boxing or more events or whatever in the Tampa/St. Pete area now because of whatever these guys do. You're into the academic phase of Winky Wright and Antonio Tarver and Jeff Lacy to a certain degree already. You're just waiting to see what the final score is going to be. But the impressions have already largely been created."

Reporter Eddie Daniels can be reached at (813) 948-4214.

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