NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Jermain Taylor dominated Jeff Lacy to win a 12-round unanimous decision in a WBC super middleweight eliminator fight tonight on the campus of Vanderbilt University.

Taylor (28-2-1, 17 KOs), the former undisputed middleweight champion, used strong left and right jabs to keep Lacy (23-2, 17 KOs) off balance and seemed to land punches at will throughout the bout.

It was the first fight for Taylor since February, when he lost a second straight fight to Kelly Pavlik.

"This is my announcement," Taylor said. "This is my comeback for being on top."

Taylor landed 48 percent of his 442 punches and by the fourth round Lacy's left eye began to swell.

"I was in shape. I thank all of my team for getting me in shape," Taylor said. "I felt great. I'm so proud of myself for working so hard. This one was a hundred percent."

There were no knockdowns in the fight, but there was controversy in the fifth round when Lacy landed a right to the back of Taylor's head. Taylor went down, but the referee ruled it was not a knockdown.

"It was a knockdown," Lacy said. "He went down when I hit him. He's a good friend outside the ring. I'm not a sore loser and I have a lot of respect for Jermain Taylor."

The fighters were roommates at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where Taylor won a bronze medal and Lacy lost in the quarterfinals.

Two judges scored the fight 119-109 and the third had it at 118-110 for Taylor, a Little Rock, Ark., native.

Lacy was super middleweight champion until he lost to Joe Calzaghe in March 2006. Lacy was unbeaten since that loss.

On the undercard, heavyweight Deontay Wilder, the only American medalist (bronze) in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, won his professional debut with a second-round knockout of Ethan Cox (2-3-1, 1 KO).