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Boxing

Lacy wins on KO in 2

The St. Petersburg middleweight makes quick work of an overmatched Scott Pemberton.

By JOHN C. COTEY
Published November 6, 2005

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STATELINE, Nev. - It wasn't 18,000 screaming fans in Tampa. It wasn't to unify the titles in England.

But for 1,400 fans at the Caesar's Tahoe in Nevada, it was fun while it lasted.

And that wasn't long.

It took just less than six minutes for St. Petersburg's Jeff Lacy to destroy Scott Pemberton on Saturday night, defending his IBF super middleweight championship for the fourth time.

Lacy was supposed to face WBO champ Joe Calzaghe before an injury to the undefeated Welshman scuttled what would have been a megafight.

"There was some disappointment," Lacy said.

"Tonight was supposed to be a night where we showed who the best super middleweight was."

Who's to say it wasn't?

While Lacy was much the better fighter, Pemberton was regarded by some as a threat because of his punching power.

First of all, he had knocked out Omar Sheika and Lacy didn't.

Second, he had knocked out Richard Grant and Lacy didn't.

That was the math that Pemberton's trainer John Scully used all week, dismissing Lacy's punching power as overrated.

Lacy, wearing orange trunks with black trim, promised he would show Scully that power and, early on, he did.

In the second round, Lacy battered Pemberton into submission, stopping him at 2:59. Nicknamed Left Hook, Lacy did the deed with his right hook.

"Everyone looks for the left hook, so every time I go back in the gym I have to work on something new, something more devastating," Lacy said.

It was the 10th time in 21 fights Lacy has knocked an opponent out within the first two rounds.

After decisioning Sheika in December 2004, Lacy looked better with each passing fight as he knocked out top-10 fighters Rubin Williams, Robin Reid and Pemberton this year.

Lacy (21-0, 17 KOs) dropped Pemberton early in the second round with a short right. Making his first bid for a championship, Pemberton got up at the count of eight but already looked beaten.

Lacy kept the pressure on, throwing bomb after bomb as he chased Pemberton around the ring. He snapped Pemberton's head back with a straight left and followed it with another left to knock the challenger into the ropes midway through the round, and then went in for the kill in the final seconds.

A split second after Pemberton landed a left, Lacy followed with a vicious right hook that crumpled his opponent. The referee wasted no time counting as Pemberton tried in vain to roll to his feet.

"Jeff Lacy is a powerful man," Pemberton said. "I accept the ref's decision to stop it but I don't like it. I think I could have gone on if he would have given me a count.

"I hate to lose like this."

The difference wasn't just power, it was speed. Pemberton was slow with his left jab in the first round, and Lacy, an 8-1 favorite, was able to duck in and land at will with hooks and crosses.

Lacy will now venture outside the super middleweight division and try to chase down Antonio Tarver, Calzaghe or perhaps the winner of the Dec.3 fight between Jermain Taylor and Bernard Hopkins.

"I want Antonio Tarver," Lacy said, referring to the Tampa resident who is the light heavyweight champion. "If Calzaghe won't step up, that's who I want to fight.

"I'm looking for big names in 2006."

Lacy made $200,000 for the fight, while Pemberton was paid $150,000, his biggest payday.

UNDERCARD: Rafael Marquez dominated the previously unbeaten Silence Mabuza to defend his IBF bantamweight title.

Marquez stopped Mabuza in the fourth round on cuts. Referee Norm Budden ruled that a gash over Mabuza's right eye was the result of a punch, but replays showed it was a head butt.

Regardless, Marquez (35-3, 31 KOs) knocked Mabuza down in the first round and was in control of the fight.

[Last modified November 6, 2005, 02:30:09]

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