By David Sauvage

Before he looked like much of anything, Jeff Lacy was the darling of Showtime. He had all the promise of a star, with a physique reminiscent of Evander Holyfield and an aggression that announcers were only too happy to compare to Mike Tyson’s.

What Lacy didn’t have was skill.

Sure, he was an Olympian. But he looked sloppy out there. His hook would certainly put you down if it landed square, but more often than not it’d fly right past, leaving its heaving thrower sputtering and open.

Worse yet, Lacy was immature. Against a mediocre Donnell Wiggins, he didn’t pay attention to what was going on until halfway through the fight. Even then, he looked like he had better things to do than his job.

What would happen if he faced a challenge?

Well, Syd Vanderpool was a challenge. He had the power, chin and grit to match up to anyone. When Lacy overpowered him in the eighth round of a slugfest, he proved he was at least as talented a fighter as the executives at Showtime had hoped.

The fights since Vanderpool have been entirely predictable. Omar Sheika won a round or two jabbing and circling, but Lacy had learned patience since the Wiggins fight. Rubin Williams, Robin Reid, Scott Pemberton -- they all folded when they ran into two of the fastest and heaviest hands in boxing.

But on March 4, Lacy is facing Joe Calzaghe. And Joe Calzaghe is a different animal altogether.

While Calzaghe hasn’t faced Roy Jones or James Toney -- the two most gifted fighters to pass through the super middleweight division in recent memory -- he’s been  beating good enough opponents in impressive enough fashion to secure his place as the Man to Beat at 168.

“'Everything I've done, going to the Olympics, winning a world title, defending it, that's all a warm-up,” Lacy said with an objectivity few boxers have about themselves. “I look at this fight with Calzaghe as the start of my career.”

In other words, this is it.

If Lacy wins, he’s a bona fide star. He stands next to Ricky Hatton and Jermain Taylor as one of the next generation of greats, the group of fighters who, with their combination of charisma and talent, will fill the void De La Hoya and Jones left when they went on their farewell tours.

More than that. A win could make Lacy the most bankable star in the sport. He’d be the only champion with a knockout punch, a camera ready smile, and an absolutely perfect record.

Jeff Lacy could be the face of boxing.

Or he could lose.

Lacy is nowhere near perfect. If an opponent had smarts and power, if he combined Sheika’s dance with Vanderpool’s pop, if he were, let’s say, a fighter in the mold of Joe Calzaghe, he would stand a real good chance.

Lacy and Calzaghe will fight for the RING Magazine title. Whoever takes it will be the undeniable champion. But most importantly, it’s the moment of truth for a fighter who may well be boxing’s next best hope for crossover appeal.

Not to mention that if Lacy wins, it’s smooth sailing for the foreseeable future. Put him against Hopkins, Tarver, Jones -- any of the big names hanging around his weight class, for that matter -- and he’d likely to do much worse to them than anything he could do to the Welshman.

Is Jeff Lacy ready for primetime? Let’s hope so.