LAS VEGAS - The old outdoor arena at Caesars Palace was a place for legends, holding some of the most memorable fights of the '80s and '90s.
Larry Holmes beat Muhammad Ali in 1980. Marvin Hagler, Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns took turns fighting each other so much here you'd think they had a permanent room in the Romas Tower. Oscar De La Hoya put away Julio Cesar Chavez, Evander Holyfield did away with Holmes and Alexis Arguello and Aaron Pryor fought to a classic finish.
With the old arena now buried forever beneath a pool and a garden, the legends that spilled blood here but a faded memory, a new era was ushered in Saturday night.
Turning in a performance that Hearns, who sat ringside, could be proud of, St. Petersburg's Jeff Lacy chased down Syd Vanderpool and knocked him out for the International Boxing Federation super-middleweight title.
The new place, the Royal Plaza Amphitheatre, welcomed the new champion.
With Bernard Hopkins turning 40, De La Hoya and Roy Jones Jr. recent knockout victims, and the glamor heavyweight division struggling to find an identity, Lacy may be just what boxing needs - a young, exciting heavy-hitting champion and Caesars Palace throwback.
Who needs the Kronk Gym or Big Bear to save boxing when you have St. Petersburg?
"No, it's not crazy, it's reality," said Lacy, 17-0 with 14 knockouts. "This took so much hard work, you don't know. The fans, they only see what's on television. They don't realize the sacrifices. But I did it. I'm a world champion and it feels pretty good."
Though many ringside observers said they thought Lacy was hurt early, and Vanderpool looked like the craftier fighter in winning the first two rounds, the 2000 Olympian said he had a plan.
"I couldn't just do anything I wanted to with Syd Vanderpool," Lacy said. "He was a slick, crafty fighter. You have to plant a seed. When you plant a seed, it don't grow in a day. We planted it. I was putting pressure on him to break him down for the later rounds so I could eventually take him out. And I did."
The victory punctuates Lacy's homecoming. During his years away from St. Petersburg chasing Olympic dreams and pro riches, Lacy switched trainers and gyms. His last stop, Los Angeles, where he was training with Freddie Roach, quickly grew stale and he called his first trainer, Dan Birmingham.
Lacy only left Birmingham because his friend, Winky Wright, had to go overseas to chase his dreams, leaving Lacy feeling abandoned. But there was always room for Lacy back at the gym if he wanted it, and earlier this year he decided he did.
Even though Wright's promoter, Don King, had a more glamorous card in New York featuring a potential future opponent in Felix Trinidad, it was a no-decision as to where Wright would be Saturday.
"Champ," Wright called out to Lacy in the dressing room after his win. "You are the champ. I told you."
It was Wright who coached Lacy on the pressures of a world title fight, what it would take and how to live up to a reputation.
"Winky always said, "I got my title and now it's your turn, so you need to go out and do it,"' Lacy said.
Birmingham stood nearby and smiled as his fighters embraced. It seems like ages ago that the Ohio native was commissioned to train a handful of amateurs, and with no club to do so used Crescent Park as a boxing facility. Even when he did find a gym, local businesses would chase him away because of the noise. Now he has two world champions: Wright, who unifed the junior middleweight titles in March, and Lacy.
"Ten years ago, Florida was a state where guys went to find opponents, to pick opponents, and they'd get beat all over the world," Birmingham said. "Now, we're a state of champions. Heck, now we're a city of champions. Now we just have to keep the train rolling."
TRINIDAD FOCUSED ON HOPKINS: Felix Trinidad doesn't believe in tuneups. His comeback from retirement was a doozy, and now he wants the biggest name out there: Hopkins.
After Trinidad knocked out Ricardo Mayorga (26-5-1) in the eighth round Saturday night in New York, he turned his attention to the only man who has beaten him. Hopkins knocked out Trinidad in the 12th round three years ago for the middleweight title. Trinidad (42-1) fought once more but, unable to secure a rematch, he left boxing.
Now he's back, and he's looking for the undisputed middleweight champion.
Hopkins told ESPN Radio that he would consider another fight with Trinidad and that HBO had reserved Jan. 20 for his 20th title defense. More likely, Hopkins will face Felix Sturm and any Hopkins-Trinidad matchup wouldn't come until spring.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
