ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- In what is regarded as the quickest knockout in professional boxing history, Rickey Parkey floored Broderick Mason at eight seconds of the first round Tuesday night in a scheduled 10-round cruiserweight bout.
Parkey charged from his corner at the opening bell and surprised Mason with a single overhand right that sent the Philadelphia fighter to the cannvas face first.
Mason quivered as referee Vinnie Rianone counted to five, then called for the doctors to enter the ring.
Parkey, who has been working on the quick punch with former World Boxing Council heavyweight champ Tim Witherspoon, said the key to catching a fighter off balance is to act calmly.
'If you charge across the ring, the man is going to think you'll throw a big right hand and he'll cover up,' Parkey said. 'I came out quick but I walked. They way I moved over, he probably thought I was going to jab. Instead I caught him with a right. I figured he would duck away and I'd catch him with a left uppercut. But I never had to throw that.'
Mason got up after about a minute.
'I had my hands down too low,' he said. 'I should have been ready for that. He came across the ring, threw a Hail Mary and he caught me. I'm all right now. It's just one of those things.'
The shortest previous knockout in pro boxing, according to the Ring Record Book, was April 3, 1936 in New Haven, Conn. Lightweight Al Carr knocked out Lew Massey at 10 seconds of the first round.
The Guiness Book of World Records list the shortest pro knockout as 10 seconds (including a 10-second count). It occurred Sept. 26, 1946, when Al Couture struck Ralph Walton while the latter was adjusting his mouthpiece in his corner at Lewiston, Maine.
'If the time was accurately taken,' the Guiness Book reported, 'it is clear that Couture must have been halfway across the ring from his own corner at the opening bell.'
The shortest fight ever, according to Guiness, appears to have been in a Golden Gloves tournament in Minneapolis on Nov. 4, 1947. Mike Collins floored Pat Brownson with his first punch and the contest was stopped, without a count, four seconds after the bell.
Parkey last month upset heavyweight contender Renaldo Snipes despite fighting at a 29-pound weight disadvantage. The 28-year-old from Atlantic City weighed 185 pounds and improved his record to 12-2 with 7 KOs.
Mason, 27, whose only previous knockout loss was to Gerry Cooney in 1979, fell to 18-6 with 10 KOs. He weighed 192 .
The bout took place at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino.
