Nashville, TN -- (Sports Network) - Jermain Taylor moved to the No.1 contender spot in the WBC super middleweight rankings with a dominating 12-round unanimous decision over Jeff Lacy.

The 30-year-old Taylor (28-2-1), fighting for the first time in his career at 168 pounds, won by scores of 119-109 from two of the judges and 118-110 from the other one.

Coming off consecutive losses to Kelly Pavlik, the former middleweight champion pounded Lacy early on.

Lacy (24-2) was struck by a big combination in the third round and was the recipient of a solid right from Taylor in the fourth. In the fifth round, Lacy caught Taylor with a right, but the punch glanced off Taylor's shoulder. Taylor lost his balance and fell to the canvas, but referee Laurence Cole didn't rule it a knockdown for Lacy, instead saying Taylor slipped.

It didn't matter because Taylor's jab was working effectively throughout the bout. Taylor connected at a rate of 48 percent to just 17 percent for Lacy in total punches by a 213-75 count.