Jones vs. Lacy - Worth Watching?

It may not be the best pay-per-view boxing event being shown on Saturday night, August 15, as that distinction may very well go to the Top Rank card featuring Nonito Donaire vs. Rafael Concepcion and Steve Luevano vs. Bernabe Concepcion, but the light heavyweight bout between legendary Roy Jones Jr. against Jeff Lacy, a man seen by some as an under-achiever, is the most high-profile PPV of the weekend.

Before delving into the Jones Jr.-Lacy contest and taking a look at what'll take for each athlete to emerge victorious, one question must be asked: should we care? The answer is, sure, why not.

Jones Jr. is certainly not what he was a decade or so ago, but he's still competitive and when he enters the ring it still garners attention. For his part, Lacy hasn't proven to be all that much more than a one-dimensional fighter, but he carries a big punch and he's been featured in main events on HBO and Showtime in the not too distant past.

Jones Jr., coming off of a fifth round technical knockout victory over a faded Omar Sheika in March, enters the contest with a record of 53-5 (39 knockouts). The 40 year-old from Pensacola, Florida is 4-4 in his last eight bouts.

Before defeating Sheika, he was decisively beaten over 12 rounds last November by the now-retired Joe Calazaghe. The lose to Calzaghe, who was at the time amongst the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, snapped a three-fight win streak by Jones Jr. which was highlighted a unanimous decision victory over a past-his-prime Felix Trinidad.

Lacy, 32, from St. Petersburg, Florida will enter the ring at the Gulf Coast Arena in Biloxi, Mississippi with a mark of 25-2 (17). He's fresh off a non-descript 10-round majority decision win against Otis Griffin. Prior to the victory over Griffin, he lost just about every round over 12 rounds to Jermain Taylor in November of 2008. That loss broke Lacy's own three-fight winning streak starting after he was handled convincingly by Calzaghe in 2006.

The advantage in speed, and yes, reflexes, in this one goes to the older Jones Jr. In the sheer power department, Lacy has the edge, but speed equals power and Jones' punches will always get there first.

Look for Jones Jr. to give Lacy just enough movement where it will be difficult for the latter to land one telling punch, let alone a combination. When Jones Jr. goes to the ropes, Lacy better take as much advantage as much as possible and work the body and head smartly, not with wild punches.

The feeling here is that Jones Jr. is just simply the better all-around fighter and he wants this victory more than Lacy. That, plus speed, will be the difference as Jones Jr. finds another reason to continue his career, this time the reason will be because he stopped Lacy in the 10^th round.