Lacy Finishes #1 Ranked Foe

Reno, NV - Jeff "Left Hook" Lacy remained unbeaten and kept his International Boxing Federation super middleweight title here Saturday with a second-round knockout of Scott Pemberton.

Lacy continued to show incredible punching power as he defended his belt for the fourth time in less than a year since winning it in October 2004.

Lacy, who improved to 21-0 with 17 knockouts, made quick work of Pemberton, 29-4-1, a replacement for unbeaten Welsh contender Joe Calzaghe who pulled out with a broken hand.

Lacy scored his first knockdown with a solid right hand early in the second round and used a combination to send the challenger to the mat a second time.

Referee Vic Drakulich immediately stopped the bout with one second remaining in the round.

"Coming into this fight, I felt strong," Lacy said. "I knew if I got in close against Scott I could let loose my big bombs."

Pemberton said he believed he could have continued, but said he wouldn't argue with officials looking out for the health of the fighters.

It was Lacy's quickest win since a second-round technical knockout of Anwar Oshana in May 2003 and should set him up for a future clash with Calzaghe.

"In 2006, I'm looking for big names," Lacy said.

On the undercard, IBF bantamweight titlist Rafael Marquez of Mexico was awarded a was awarded a fourth-round technical knockout over previously unbeaten challenger Silence Mabuza of South Africa.

"He's a very strong fighter, he hits hard, but obviously my punch was the one that made the difference here," Marquez said.

Marquez, who improved to 35-3 with 31 knockouts, dropped Mabuza in the first and opened a pair of cuts around the challenger's eyes in the third, causing a stoppage 2:08 into the fourth.

The cuts were ruled to be caused by punches, although the two fighters' heads did connect.

"It was a punch," Marquez insisted. "There was a head-butt in the fight, but it didn't open the cut."

Mabuza, who had earned his first title shot with a unanimous decision over Cruz Carbajal in May, fell to 18-1.

It was particularly disappointing after he waited through one postponement of the fight - travelling to the States and having to return home before the fight was re-scheduled.

"I was very fit for this fight," he said. "I kept fighting very strongly, and to my surprise the fight was stopped."

Bobby Roy
West Coast Correspondent

Information from other publications and wire services was used in the compilation of this report.