If not offered a fight with Georges St. Pierre, Nick Diaz will box Jeff Lacy in the Fall
Posted on May 6, 2011, 08:20 PM by Joey Santosus
After weeks of speculation surrounding a potential opponent for Nick Diaz's professional boxing endeavor, former IBF Super-Middleweight Champion Jeff Lacy has officially signed-on to face the Strikeforce Welterweight Champion this Fall.
This according to a press release issued earlier today (via MMAMania.com):
A few moments ago, former IBF super-middleweight champion & devastating knockout artist, Jeff "Left Hook" Lacy, officially signed on the dotted line to square off against Diaz in the Fall of 2011.
Don Chargin states, "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."
Chargin continues, "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. 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."
It seems, however, things aren't as official as they appear. While promoter Don Chargin insists that both Diaz and Lacy have signed the bout agreements, Cesar Gracie denied the claims.
"Nick has a signed contract but is waiting to sign an actual bout agreement," Gracie explained to MMAFighting.com via text message. "We are only waiting to see if ZUFFA is serious about a Diaz-GSP fight."
Following UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre's successful title defense against Jake Shields in Toronto this past Saturday, UFC President Dana White appeared open to the idea of bringing Diaz in to challenge "GSP."
Though Diaz's current contract with Strikeforce, which was negotiated prior to ZUFFA's purchase of the promotion, allows him to compete in professional boxing, White has also revealed plans to meet with both he and Cesar Gracie in Stockton, California in hopes of talking him out of doing so.
In his latest outing, Diaz defeated British slugger Paul Daley via first round TKO, marking his third title defense and tenth consecutive victory. Following the match-up, however, Diaz openly questioned his future in MMA, a sport in which he feels he is currently overworked and underpaid, and cited boxing as a more lucrative alternative.
Lacy, meanwhile, was dethroned by Joe Calzaghe in 2006 and is currently 3-3 in his past six efforts. The 34-year-old most recently fought in December, dropping a unanimous decision against Dhafir Smith in his hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida.
Stay tuned to LowKick.com for more information as it becomes available.
Photo: Nick Diaz celebrates his victory over Gleison Tibau during the Ultimate Fighting Championship UFC 65 at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, CA, on November 18, 2006. Francis Specker
Comments
would be sick but stick to your roots buddy your up there for p4p mma fighter keep up the good work u will be back in ufc soon fighting the best there making the real cash
I can sure tell u this will be a short boxing career for Nick if he fights Jeff Lacy. Nick is good BUT over his head to think he could beat a much stronger, faster Boxing Champion. I rather see Nick fight GSP.
i like too see diaz pro box . the guy would make a killing and would hold a title or two . if diaz takes whites ufc deal which dana was going to cali to see diaz this weekend . if he takes the deal white will not let diaz pro box unlike coker . he listens and cares about his fighters . diaz will have too choose . it would not even surprise me if diaz turns white down !
Dana has to honer Diaz's current contract.
If the spelling in his contract is as bad as yours, there will surely be a loop hole.
I'd love to see this just to see Diaz get owned.
In all honesty, I don't see Diaz winning against Lacy or GSP. GSP will overwelm him and Lacy will also. It is alot harder to box a pro boxer then it is to box against a mixed martial artist.
It seems Diaz got his wish, he used the boxing thing as a bluff and Dana seems to be taking the bait.
You might be right but more than anything it's about that dough.
Does anyone have any clue about how much money he realistically can make in a bout with Lacy?
I think he can make 500k for the fight with Lacy. Maybe less, because, lets face it, Jeff Lacy is not a name to make big tv ratings nor is Nick. Who knows if it will even get a deal with Showtime or HBO.
dont listen to complexx, reading must be to complex for him. nick can make around 175k or a litle more. same as his last mma fight i think.
k so probably 95% of mma fans are gonna wanna tune in to that, how many boxing fans do you think are gonna wanna see this? mma champion vs boxing former champ in a boxing match. this is the first time such a high profile athlete from another combat sport is sacking up and leaving his element to fight someone as high caliber as lacy. any boxing fan who actually buys ppv's is gonna wanna see this, and im sure that some mma fans are gonna go for the ppv. the revenue is gonna be from the boxing fans bc most mma fans are too cheap to buy a boxing ppv. im guessing hell get around a mil
Appearantly James Toney was supposed to be a big name athlete in boxing, he came in the octagon like a fish out of water and he flopped like one to. I just dont care what nick does, If he fought GSP hed lose....end of story and for those who disagree stop being ignorant. But hey do what makes u happy Nick.
Team Caesar Gracie = Overrated... not sayin they arent good just sayin they aint top comp good.
people just dont wana admit it do they hahaha
nick really doesnt deserve a shot at gsp i am not sure if he has ever fought a top ten guy in his life (no pual daley is not top ten). lets see him fight at least one top guy. probaly a wrestler to show that he has improved enough that he can even make it a competittive fight now one wants another hardy vs gsp. kos fitch peirce ellenberger would all be good choices however for pure entertainment factor diaz vs alves or condit
no1 wants a hardy vs GSP? all his fights are the same i wouldnt want another Shields vs GSP or KOS vs GSP. What I do want is Diaz vs GSP, Pierres gameplan surrounds his opponents weakness where is he gonna go when Diaz has high lvl BJJ and stand up
If Koscheck deserved a shot at GSP for beating Daley after laying on him and feigning injuries the whole fight, then why doesnt Nick when he beat Daley at his own game?
i also noticed that gsp was not willing to engage with shields on the ground. even when he was on top, you could tell he thought it was a dangerous place to be. nick is probably similar bjj to shields bc they do the most groundwork with eachother. gsp has not faced a well rounded opponent in years. i said the same thing about silva before he fought vitor. alves and hardy werent threats on the ground, kos wasnt a threat on the feet and neither was shields (if not for the eye pokes) diaz is comfortable on the feet and on his back. noone since bj was well rounded
I say give Nick, Hardy. If he wins, then give him an Alves. THEN will he deserve a shot.
Good thing you are not the match maker cause you may as well would have him fighting the whole WW UFC rooster...
Nick get that money, if it is at boxing who ahead get it there, people are not showing you the respect you deserved so **** them..
In MMA he's a somebody. In boxing he's a nobody.
My guess is - that boxers and boxing fans will line up to see this, the same way MMA fans lined up to see Couture v. Kimbo; all as if there is some point being made.
MMA and boxing are not the same thing, we all know this. You can be the greatest or one of the greatest in the world in one and get your ass handed to you in the other; which is exactly what I think will happen to Nick when he runs into real boxers, in a boxing match.
Nick should stick to what he knows best and does and regardless of the payday; Nick is not broke.
@wing dung randy never fought kimbo it was toney genius
@ Kos
Sorry, I meant Toney; not Kimbo. It is not the first time I have ever mistyped or gotten a fact wrong. My apologies to you and the entire thread, but then again, the rest of the thread probably knew of I spoke and just let it slide; the readers being bright and informed (and all).
Concluding - Kos, truly, you are the Keeper Of Shit.
Thank heaven - that people such as yourself are here to check all the facts and are there for the correction. You are akin the worker empties and services port-a-potties; it's a tedious, ugly, nasty job that no one with an education and an opportunity in life would do, but none-the-less, it has to be done. I extend my thanks to you for being such a person.
Dude, you live, sleep and breath this site- you're too thin-skinned. Relax, he was just messing with you. Calm down and step back from the key board for change. Go outside, kiss a girl, climb a tree, something. Sheesh.
@ MereDic
Yes, daddy.
That was some original thinking, by the way; dare we count the cliches.
Diaz seems to determined to ensure himself a whooping in his next fight be it MMA or boxing. Credit to him for taking on Daley and finishing him, awesome performance albeit very risky and almost got finished himself. Against GSP or Lacy though, he will be out of his depth and I will be having quite a sum on GSP or Lacy whoever it may be.
make it happen! we (the fans) want Diaz vs GSP.
yea id rather see diaz get ko then watch him get wrestle banged by gsp
Lacy is a pretty good first fight for Nick. It makes since Lacy has a pretty good record and at one time was one of the biggest up and coming names in boxing. If Nick wins he makes a huge statement for mma and the caliber of there athletes and from there would be able to pick and choose big money boxing fights because that's what this is about even though boxing is a dieing sport its top athletes earn 5-10 times more then top mma fighters. If Nick was to lose badly enough to where he would not continue to pursue a boxing career he can go right back to being one of mma elite fighters. Lacy on the other hand has to win or his career is basically over. He is 3-3 since he got brutal beating by Calzaghe and a loss to Diaz in his first professional boxing match
Time to dump S.F. already and integrate all their best fighters into the UFC, so we can see even better fights!
I think Nick should fight GSP--not because I believe he will win, but because it is the most interesting fight at WW given that GSP has taken out most everyone else.
Nick has the skills to defeat GSP, but I doubt he will have the gameplan.
If he follows the usual Diaz family pattern, he will hurl insults and wave his hands shouting, "c'mon bitch!" attempting to lure his opponent into a slugfest.
I think Dana wants the GSP vs. Diaz fight and he will make it happen--as long as Diaz doesn't shoot himself in the foot again.
Either way I see nick losing so...
Well, that's one way to get a title shot. Dana White has said many times that he likes Nick Diaz and considers him to be the best MMA fighter outside the UFC. I think he will be GSP's next opponent.
Ok I'm fairly open to this idea because I want to see it ha
Diaz is as hard as nails & I'd like to see this boxing match. However if he gets his ass handed to him we're going to have to endure all the boxing fans say "Told you so, boxers are better fighters", even though the sports are hardly alike but for 1 discipline.
It's a catch 22 fight really. If he loses, MMA fighters are sh!t (according to the intelligent boxing fans), if he wins, Lacey is washed up (according to the very same boxing fans)
In the long run, Id prefer if he stayed with MMA as he's a great talent but for the poor attitude, but we can't all be perfect role models. If he's going to box a pro, well I wish him the best & hope he fairs well at the very least. May be he'll open a few more bias eyes & bring more fans to MMA.
He certainly has a good chin & can hold his own, but it's easy to see & appreciate his stand up skills against lesser strikers in MMA. I hope I'm wrong.
I do believe he will be GSP's biggest challenge to date. GSP will have no choice but to take him down as I don't believe he can strike successfully with Diaz based on his last fight with Shields. The ground fighting could possibly be one of the longest & most interesting matches or a very quick sub.... GSP has got the power & the wrestling but Diaz off his back will be a handful.
Showing too much respect for Diaz would be GSP's biggest mistake because Diaz will be coming at him like a rabid dog!!
GSP will leg kick Diaz to death. Nick needs to learn to check or dodge those kicks. Cyborg almost dictated the match with leg kicks and I'm surprised Daley wasn't throwing them in their last match. GSP will fully exploit this because he knows the boxing and ground game will be a coin toss and that will be his opportunity to finally get a finish and it would be huge if he finished Diaz. I do think it's time for a changing of the guard though. Regardless of the outcome, this fight will be the greatest WW fight in the history of all MMA!