By: Christopher Roche

Jermain Taylor used a stiff jab, a laser right hand and a sneaky uppercut to befuddle Jeff Lacy last night in Nashville.

Taylor, of Little Rock, Arkansas, virtually won every round, against a game Lacy. The only anxious moment came in round five when Lacy hit Taylor on the side of the head with a right hand, and Taylor hit the deck. The referee ruled that Taylor slipped, so no knockdown was scored. That opportunity turned out to be Lacy’s best chance of turning the tide, but Taylor regained control and easily outpointed his former Olympic teammate.

The scores were 119-109 (twice) and 118-110 for the 30 year-old Taylor. With the win, Taylor moves to 28-2,1, 17 KO’s, and Lacy, of St. Petersburgh, Florida, falls to 24-2, 17 KO’s. Taylor snapped a two fight winless streak and is now the mandatory challenger for the WBC super-middleweight belt.

Haye Defeats Barrett

In his heavyweight debut, David Haye stopped Monte Barrett in round five. The bout was not shown here in the USA, but news reports, including that of fightnews.com, say that Haye was impressive in his first scrap as a full heavyweight. Haye moved to 22-1, 21 KO’s, and Barrett fell to 34-7, 20 KO’s. The bout took place at the O2 Arena in London.