Holyfield Pounds Out a TKO Victory Over Parkey in Third at Las Vegas

Evander Holyfield, the World Boxing Assn. junior heavyweight champion, took a step toward unifying the 190-pound division Friday night by scoring a devastating, third-round technical knockout of Rickey Parkey, the International Boxing Federation cruiserweight titleholder.

Holyfield put on an awesome display of power in improving to 15-0. The knockout was his 12th.

In the third round, a series of rights sent Parkey down for the first time. After Parkey got up at referee Davey Pearl’s count of 8, Holyfield flailed away in a neutral corner, and Parkey went down again.

Parkey was up at 2, but Holyfield pounced on him seconds later, and Pearl stepped in just as Parkey was going down for the third time. The bout was stopped at 2:44.

Parkey, who at 187 1/2 was a half-pound lighter than Holyfield, fell to 19-5.

Holyfield, 24, took the WBA crown last July in his hometown of Atlanta when he won a decision over Dwight Muhammad Qawi.

The victory, Holyfield’s 12th as a professional, came two years after he was disqualified by a referee in the Olympic Games and was forced to settle for a bronze medal.

Parkey, 30, of Atlantic City, N.J., defeated Lee Roy Murphy last October to win the IBF cruiserweight crown.

Ossie Ocasio won an unpopular majority decision over Qawi on the undercard. The winner of that fight had previously signed to meet the winner of the main event.