According to a report from promoter Don Cargin, boxer Jeff Lacy has agreed to a professional boxing bout with Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz.
Nick Diaz To Abandon Boxing Initiative With Jeff Lacy, Says Don Chargin
“Nick is a good kid and a very exciting fighter. Right now he has an opportunity of a lifetime as it pertains to his MMA career,” said Chargin. “While I don’t doubt that Nick and his team were serious about taking the big step into boxing, it only makes sense for him to finish what he started and see how far he can go in MMA before he does anything in boxing. It’s all about timing... we began these discussions over two years ago and nobody would have imagined the type of demand that there currently is for Nick as a mixed martial artist.”
Nick Diaz’s manager, Cesar Gracie, added”: “There are some people that have said we were just posturing to go into professional boxing and they don’t understand that this thing is something we had been working on since 2009. It wasn’t just out of nowhere but at this point in time, there’s a certain chance that comes along once in a very long while and it only makes sense to stick to MMA as of right now. Nick’s been working really hard to get to this point in his MMA career and it wouldn’t make sense for us to make that transition into boxing right now. If this were a couple months ago or if certain fights had played out differently, we’d definitely be ready to go into boxing, but that’s not how it played out. Don Chargin is a great boxing promoter and he understood our dilemma completely and I thank him for that.”
Read Article >Jeff Lacy On MMA Striking: It’s A Toughman Contest
Ordinarily, I’d pick any decent pro boxer to defeat any high-level MMA fighter in pure boxing contests, but Lacy is acting as if he hasn’t fallen on the lowest of low times. Keep in mind Lacy’s last fight was a loss to journeyman Dhafir Smith. Here’s how Eastside Boxing characterized Lacy’s boxing future after that 2010 loss:
Like boxing MMA fighters. It’s not inconceivable at all that Diaz wins this fight if it happens.
Read Article >Strikeforce’s Nick Diaz Agrees To Boxing Fight With Jeff Lacy
From the boxing side of things, Scott Christ believes this is Lacy groping for a payday. On the MMA side, it’s Nick Diaz trying to force a fight with Georges St. Pierre:
More on this story as it unfolds.
Read Article >Jeff Lacey Signs Agreement To Face Nick Diaz In Boxing Bout
While no fighters, particularly not champions, are contractually able to compete in other sports during a UFC tenure (or without specific UFC approval), Diaz’s Strikeforce contract allows the freedom to compete in a professional boxing contest.
“This is a very dangerous fight for both men. Not only is this fight dangerous but stylistically it is very intriguing. I expected more resistance from fight fans and media in regards to this match-up but its amazing as to the hundreds of calls and e-mails I’ve received from fans on both sides wanting to see this match-up take place. I’ve received more than a few inquiries from some other very high-profile boxers that want to step up and fight Nick. Its been a real whirlwind,” says promoter Don Chargin.
“I’ve been around boxing for quite some time and I’ve seen a lot of great, tough fighters in my six decades within the sport,” Chargin said. “I believe that if Nick had been one of those kids who had picked up boxing from a youth, he’d undoubtedly be a world-champion today. Sometime within the next 2 weeks I’ll be personally making the trek to Cesar Gracies gym to setup a private, closed door sparring session between Nick and a few nameless top-level contenders I have in mind.”
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