Jeff Lacy has already agreed to take a boxing fight with Nick Diaz. Now the Strikeforce welterweight champion is returning the favor. According to Josh Gross of ESPN.com, the Stockton, California-native has agreed to face Lacy later this year. To wit:
Strikeforce’s Nick Diaz Agrees To Boxing Fight With Jeff Lacy
Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz and former IBF super-middleweight champion Jeff Lacy have agreements in place to box this fall, representatives for both fighters confirmed Friday.
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Unless Zuffa offers UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre a fight during same time period, Diaz, who ESPN.com currently ranks as the No. 3 welterweight in MMA, will challenge Lacy.
"Nick's [MMA] contract takes precedence," Gracie said. "That's why we're not out there telling everyone what we're going to do. We're trying to work together with the UFC and not against them. And we're trying to do things the right way."
"As far as I'm concerned he's locked into boxing, but Nick has been very cooperative," Chargin said. "We're not going to get into a contest where we're trying to hold him and he's trying to get out. I think he'll be able to do both."
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Diaz's contract with Strikeforce includes a provision that allows him to fight in 2011. UFC president Dana White said last week that he intended to have face-to-face discussions with Diaz about his intentions. That meeting is yet to happen, said Gracie.
"So we have to move forward with what we're doing," Gracie said. "Of course, if those guys call and say they secured a date and it's going to conflict with boxing then it might change this whole thing up."
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:
The UFC will need to coax Diaz into the bout, with the Stockton-born fighter keen on the more lucrative opportunities offered in boxing, but a clash with St-Pierre would be by far the biggest earner of Diaz's MMA career, and Gracie revealed the 27-year-old could be tempted by Dana White.
"Nick wants that fight [with St-Pierre]. He would love to take that fight," Gracie told MMAWeekly Radio. "Obviously, I would like to put another one of my guys against Georges St-Pierre, so we definitely want that fight.
"It's no secret Nick was a little bit burnt out. He needs a bigger challenge. No disrespect to the guys he's been fighting because each one of them has brought something to the table. Paul Daley hits really hard, good hands, very dangerous opponent. [Evangelista] Cyborg, great kicks, dangerous opponent. KJ Noons really good boxing also, dangerous, and Nick beat them all at their strengths.
More on this story as it unfolds.
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