Zab zapped of Nevada license

On Monday, the Nevada Athletic Commission handed down penalties to former welterweight champion Zab Judah and his trainer and father Yoel Judah stemming from their roles in a riot that broke out during Zab Judah's April 8 fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Zab Judah nailed "Pretty Boy Floyd" with a low blow late in the 10th round, causing him to stumble in pain. As Mayweather Jr. winced, Judah connected with a rabbit punch, an illegal punch to the back of the head. A concerned Roger Mayweather, Floyd's trainer and uncle, entered the ring and approached Zab Judah, prompting Yoel Judah also joing the melee. Yoel threw a punch at Roger, causing the ring to be filled with members of both boxers' camps. After several minutes of clearing the ring and restoring order, the fight was resumed. Mayweather Jr. ended up winning the fight by unanimous decision and taking Judah's IBF welterweight belt in the process.

For his role in the skirmish, Zab Judah was fined $250,000 and had his Nevada boxing license revoked for a year. Yoel Judah also had his license revoked and was fined $100,000.

Last month, Roger Mayweather was fined $200,000 and had his license revoked for a year.

Standing Eight Count, May 8

Those who were lucky enough to watch the Mayorga-De La Hoya fight were treated to a pretty good undercard, highlighted by Kassim Ouma's split-decision over Marco Antonio Rubio.

Ouma, who is climbing the light middleweight ranks after a loss to Roman Karmazin last year, is a fun fighter to watch and has a great story (growing up in rebel-infested Uganda), so he's really easy to root for. Unfortunately, Kassim "The Dream" had a nightmarish opening round, being sent to the canvas after Rubio connected a nice left to Ouma's jaw. But Ouma showed great resiliency though, winning the rest of the rounds but the 12th and final round (according to the Blog and Weave scorecard.) It was a great fight, as both boxers slugged it out. In the end, Ouma won by split-decision, with two judges favoring Ouma 117-111 and 116-111, while the third scored it 114-113 in favor of Rubio. Ouma, who moves to 24-2-1 with 15 KOs, is signed to De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions and should soon get a shot at a major light middleweight title.

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On the same undercard was a match up between Joan Guzman and former lightweight champion Javier Jauregui. Guzman dominated the fight, easily winning every round and earning an unanimous decision.

It was the first time I've ever seen Guzman and I was somewhat impressed. Sure, he boxed well, has Roger Mayweather in his corner and has a perfect record (25-0, 17 KOs), but I was not pleased with his actions inside the ring. He constantly taunted Jauregui, leaned his chin out challenging him, and spent most of the last two rounds with his hands at his side, dancing. Guzman appears to have all the skill to one day face the likes of Manny Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera in the super featherweight division (IF he can control his weight, which has been a problem in the past and another red flag) but, in my opinion, he really needs to work on his professionalism.

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Last week on Monday, Thailand's Pongsaklek Wonjongkam defended his WBC flyweight title for the 14th consecutive time, scoring a unanimous decision in his bout against Daigo Nakahiro. The win puts Wonjongkam (61-2, 31 KOs) one title defense victory away from a spot in the WBC Hall of Fame. Wonjongkam is barely on the outside looking in of Blog and Weave's top ten Pound-for-Pound Rankings.

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On the same night of the great De La Hoya fight, Showtime aired a title bout between junior middleweights Alejandro Garcia and Jose Antonio Rivera. In a shocking victory, Rivera out-pointed the defending champion Garcia in front of his hometown of Worcester, Massachusetts.

I predicted that Garcia would knockout Rivera in the fifth round, but instead it was Garcia who kissed the canvas, going down a total of five times during the fight. Rivera dominated the fight early, sending Garcia down twice in the first round, first by a left hook and then a right hand to the forehead in the closing seconds of the round. Garcia did knock down Rivera in the fourth round, but it was his only impressive round of the night. I give credit to Garcia for getting up each time, but by the end of the fight, his feet looked really heavy and he had no power behind his punches.

With the win and new title, Rivera moves to 37-2-1 with 24 knockouts while Garcia fell to 25-2 with 24 knockouts. The WBA junior middleweight championship was the second title of Rivera's career, winning the WBA welterweight title in 2003 but losing in his first title defense.

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ESPN's Wednesday Night Fights on May 3 featured welterweight Sharmba Mitchell against Jose Luis Cruz. Mitchell (57-5, 30 KOs) won the fight by unanimous decision after ten rounds and inched closer toward his goal of sixty wins.

Mitchell showed at age 35 that he still has the hand speed to validate another title shot in the future — perhaps Carlos Baldomir?

Mitchell started the fight off with a few good punches to Cruz's chin, but he spent the next few rounds taking more body shots, seemingly trying to wear down Cruz. Mitchell eventually started jabbing and worked on the outside, then moving inside with combinations. A head butt in the ninth round sent Mitchell reeling but Cruz went after Mitchell. The referee stopped Cruz before Mitchell would hav gotten a blow to the back of the head. The fight continued and Mitchell went on scoring, using his speed to his advantage. Two of the judges' scorecards had it 97-93 for Mitchell with the other in favor of Mitchell 96-94.

Mitchell has a decent following, even after losses to Kostya Tszyu (2002 and 2004) and Floyd Mayweather Jr., back in November last year. If Mitchell doesn't get a title shot soon, I wouldn't mind seeing him go up against Zab Judah or Arturo Gatti.

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Two Standing Eight Counts ago, I defended Jermain Taylor's decision to add Emanuel Steward to his corner as co-trainer with his long-time trainer Patrick Burns but just this week, it was announced that Taylor, who's training for next month's middleweight championship fight again Winky Wright, is making Steward his only trainer, as Burns was not in Taylor's camp last Monday.

Burns took the high road, wishing Jermain well and saying "I certainly want him to win this fight." I thought adding Steward was a good idea as long as Burns stayed with Taylor but I think Taylor made a poor decision by letting Burns go, the only trainer he's ever hand during his professional career. Come June 17, we'll see what kind of affects this trainer shake-up had on Taylor.

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Russian heavyweight Sultan Ibragimov has signed to face Samuel Peter sometime this summer in an IBF eliminator bout, a fight that could turn out to be "Fight of the Year" worthy. Ibragimov was to originally face Ray Austin, the #2 IBF heavyweight contender, but he declined and will most likely meet Shannon Briggs in a WBC eliminator.

Ibragimov is already challanging Peter verbally, declaring he will "knock out Samuel Peter and then the whole world will already know what I know. That I am the future heavyweight champion and the best in the division."

Ibragimov (19-0, 16KO) is coming off a December knockout of Lance Whitaker, the best win of his career. Peter (26-1, 22KO) lost to Wladimir Klitschko last year but recently scored a first round TKO over Julius Long last week. The date and site have not yet been decided.

For more on Ibragimov, check back tomorrow as I look at the rise of Eastern Europeans in the heavyweight division.

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ESPN Classic has a few great fights on tap this week:

On May 11 (8 PM EST), the bout between ESPN darling Micky Ward and Zab Judah from June 1998. The fight features a 20-year old Zab Judah in his 16th professional fight. Judah wins the fight by unanimous decision and earns his first championship, the minor USBA light welterweight title.

Tony Pep vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. will be aired on May 13 (1 AM EST). The fight took place on June 14, 1998 at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. Mayweather heads into the fight 16-0 and wins the fight decisively. The victory earns Mayweather a title shot later in the year against Genaro Hernandez, a fight in which "Pretty Boy" Floyd would win and take home the WBC super featherweight title, the first of his career. If you watch the fight, watch how frustrated the veteran Pep gets and how dominating Mayweather is all night.

Also on May 13, at 8 PM EST, the classic Reggie Green-Micky Ward fight from 1999 will be shown. If you don't have the stomach to see blood shed or the heart to handle an amazing finish, I suggest you don't watch. Otherwise, if you've never seen the fight, I won't ruin it for you, but I will say it was worthy of its "Fight of the Year" nomination.

Golden Boy shines with TKO

In order to beat WBC super welterweight champion Ricardo Mayorga (28-6-1, 23 KOs) on Saturday, Oscar De La Hoya (38-4, 30 KOs) need to fight the perfect fight and he did just that with a win by way of stoppage in the sixth round at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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I'm an Oscar De La Hoya fan. There, I said it. For the first time, I was actually rooting for "The Golden Boy" in a fight. I was hoping he'd knock Ricardo Mayorga's head off his shoulders, but I had doubts, given the ring rust De La Hoya would almost have to have not fighting for twenty months and Mayorga not only has the power to end the night early for De La Hoya, but there was a chance he'd eventually get De La Hoya to brawl with him, which would almost guarantee a victory by "El Matador."

Lucky for me, and almost the entire boxing world, De La Hoya stuck to his own game plan: keeping Mayorga at bay with jabs and countering Mayorga's overhand misses with the trademark De La Hoya's killer left hook.

The fight opened up at a feverish pace, with Mayorga looking to end the night early, but it was De La Hoya who knocked down Mayorga only a minute in. The rest of the night, Mayorga looked desperate while De La Hoya blocked everything Mayorga was throwing and answering with combinations and solid power punches.

The flurry of De La Hoya fists that caused referee Jay Nady to stop the fight in the sixth round was one of the greatest De La Hoya moments ever. De La Hoya had Mayorga backing up the entire night, and especially in the sixth round. After another knockdown by De La Hoya, you could tell Mayorga was in serious trouble and if history was correct, we'd see a vintage De La Hoya and indeed we did. De La Hoya sensed he could end the fight right there and he backed Mayorga up against the ropes and threw what seemed like thirty clean punches, alternating left and right hooks, each and everyone landing flush with Mayorga's head and chin. Nady had no choice but the step in and stop it.

It was a classic ending for a great career. Where De La Hoya goes from here is up to him. One option is to retire, leaving his fight as a bookend to a fabulous career. What many want to see though is a September fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr., Blog and Weave's #1 pound-for-pound boxer. It would probably be one of the biggest non-heavyweight paydays in boxing history and an upset win over Mayweather Jr. would cement De La Hoya as one of the greatest of all-time, no question. But a loss would leave a ugly "L" at the end of his record. To make matters even worse, De La Hoya's trainer is Floyd Mayweather Sr., who has asked De La Hoya not to fight "Pretty Boy Floyd."

No matter what lies ahead, it should be great.

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Round-by-Round Review

ROUND ONE

Mayorga comes out swinging, showing his impressive potential, but nothing lands. De La Hoya is on the outside, landing good jabs. A left hook out of nowhere connects with Mayorga's head, sending him to the canvas. The already pro-De La Hoya crowd goes nuts as Mayorga is stunned. More looping punches by Mayorga are countered perfectly by De La Hoya. SCORE: 10-8, De La Hoya

ROUND TWO

Not much action in the ring for a few minutes until Mayorga goes back to wild overhand swings, missing every time. Each time he throws, he's off-balance and De La Hoya is noticing this. The next time Mayorga does this, De La Hoya fires a combination that causes Mayorga to reel back. SCORE: 10-9, De La Hoya (20-17, De La Hoya)

ROUND THREE

After Mayweather Sr. instructs De La Hoya to keep jabbing, De La Hoya starts the round throwing hooks, which aren't fazing Mayorga. Mayorga tries to end the fight by launching three wild swings, but De La Hoya deflects all of them. De La Hoya lands his first uppercut of this night, followed by a crisp left hook. Mayorga connects a couple good power shots late in the round, but it's not enough to win the round. SCORE: 10-9, De La Hoya (30-26, De La Hoya)

ROUND FOUR

Both boxers begin trading punches, but De La Hoya looks more relaxed. Nady separates the two, warning Mayorga of punching the back of the head, a tactic Mayorga is known for. De La Hoya isn't spectacular during the round, but takes it with a nice combination to the body, followed by some jabs to Mayorga's now-swelling face. SCORE: 10-9, De La Hoya (40-35, De La Hoya)

ROUND FIVE

Mayorga is breathing heavy between rounds and you can tell he's realizing he needs knock De La Hoya out now. Thus, Mayorga comes out swinging, but De La Hoya is too quick, blocking everything thrown at him. It almost seems like De La Hoya is toying with Mayorga, throwing quick combinations to the body then backing off. Mayorga swings wildly, sending De La Hoya into the corner for cover. As Mayorga chases him, he punches two or three overheads at the back of De La Hoya's head, causing Nady to again warn him. SCORE: 10-9, De La Hoya (50-44, De La Hoya)

ROUND SIX

De La Hoya opens the round by working the jab, a punch Mayorga obviously doesn't have in his arsenal. A right hand scores for Mayorga, but De La Hoya fires back, sending Mayorga down to one knee. Mayorga isn't hurt, but obviously tired. As soon as he gets up, De La Hoya goes in for the kill, throwing jabs and hooks, almost all of them scoring as Mayorga can't get his gloves up. Nady jumps in to seperate the two, sending an unsuspecting De La Hoya down. Mayorga doesn't know what hit him, but De La Hoya is ruled the winner and he jumps onto the ropes and the crowd goes wild.

De La Hoya by TKO in Round 6.

Fight Preview: Mayorga-De La Hoya

May 6, 2006: WBC super welterweight champion Ricardo Mayorga (28-5-1, 23 KOs) vs. Oscar De La Hoya (37-4, 29 KOs), 12 rounds, super welterweights. At the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. (HBO Pay-Per-View)

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It has been quite eventful leading up to the much anticipated fight between Ricardo Mayorga and Oscar De La Hoya. Mayorga, the free-swinging WBC super welterweight champion, has been running his mouth (which should come as no surprise), dissing challenger De La Hoya with verbal attacks against him and his wife.

De La Hoya, the consummate professional, has actually been bothered by the comments, even going so far to say "This will be the fight of my life. I've never had anger except for one guy out there, and he got knocked out."

The insanity continued into this week when Mayorga threatened to pull out of the fight unless he received the same $8 million that De La Hoya is getting. Luckily, Mayorga dropped the demand and agreed to partake in the fight.

Finally, the fight is upon us and the men can settle it all in the ring. The fight promises to be an exciting one, not only because of the hate each fighter has for each other, but their contrasting styles ought to make for a classic encounter. Not only is a title at stake, but so is pride and respect, which may mean more to both boxers.

Mayorga, who hails from Nicaragua, comes into the fight having lost two of his last four matches, to Cory Spinks in 2003 and to Felix Trinidad in 2004. Even with the losses, "El Matador" is more than ready, having to face five reigning world champions and two former world champions in his last eight appearances. Mayorga is a thrill to watch because of his reckless style and the chance that he could do something crazy at anytime. Mayorga lacks technique, balance and defense, but he more than makes up for it with his power. Unfortunately, his opponent has all the skill to counter Mayorga's strength.

One of the most popular, if not successful, boxers in history, De La Hoya returns to the ring after a twenty month hiatus, in which he last lost to Bernard Hopkins by way of 9th-round knockout. During that stretch, De La Hoya has begun to promote boxers under his already successful Golden Boy Productions company. De La Hoya, who has won world titles in an amazing six different weight divisions, makes his 29th appearance in a world championship match.

The question surrounding De La Hoya is whether or not the time away from the ring cost him a step or two. De La Hoya has always been known for his boxing savvy, as well as his great speed and balance, so there is a chance there is some tarnish on "The Golden Boy."

Look for Mayorga to try to end the fight early by furiously trying to land one of his lethal overhands. If this is the case, De La Hoya will step inside and counter, mostly using his famous left hand. De La Hoya will be better served staying outside, throwing hooks of his jab and mixing in combinations and eventually wearing down Mayorga.

I think both fighters will find success with their styles and I firmly believe both boxers will be knocked down at least once during the fight. My gut tells me Mayorga's power will be too much for De La Hoya, especially since he's been out of the ring for some time. If Mayorga gets De La Hoya to brawl, it spells disaster for De La Hoya. But for some reason, I just believe De La Hoya will have the cooler head and out-class Mayorga.

A win for De La Hoya may be a great ending to a great career or, if he thinks he has enough in the tank for one more fight, a show-down with Floyd Mayweather Jr. later in the year could come to fruition.

Prediction: De La Hoya by TKO in Round 10.

Fight Preview: Garcia-Rivera

May 6, 2005: WBA junior middleweight champion Alex Garcia (25-1, 24 KOs) vs. Jose Antonio Rivera (37-4-1, 24 KOs), 12 rounds, junior middleweights. At the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. (Showtime)

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It's really too bad this fight is on the same night as the Mayorga-De La Hoya fight, as well some good NBA playoff games. While the matchup between Alex "Terra" Garcia and Jose Antonio Rivera doesn't have nearly the same star power as those previously mentioned, it has all the makings of being just as entertaining.

If you are reluctant to fork over $49.95 for the highly anticipated Mayorga-De La Hoya showdown, rest assured you'll be able to walk away and say you saw great boxing if you tune into the Garcia-Rivera fight on Showtime on Saturday night.

Garcia brings his impressive 25-1 record and astonishing 24 knockouts into the ring against the veteran Rivera, who hasn't fought in over a year since losing his WBA welterweight title to Luis Collazo.

Garcia, as his record reflects, is a knockout artist who is still trying to mature and improve his boxing guile. With his title on the line, look for Garcia to fight a smart fight. Rivera is aggressive in the ring and likes to throw as many punches as possible. The odds will say Rivera is the underdog, but this fight takes place in Rivera's hometown. If the crowd gets on his side early, it could distract the younger Garcia and give Rivera a shot at the upset. There's no doubt this will turn into a slugfest, in which I will take the quality punches (Garcia) over the quantity (Rivera.)

Prediction: Garcia by KO in Round 5.

Termeliksetian stopped early by Mora (and referee)

It was an exciting Thursday night of boxing on ESPN as "The Contender" winner Sergio Mora (18-0, 4 KOs) beat Archak Termeliksetian (15-4, 12 KOs) when referee Robert Byrd abruptly stopped the fight in the seventh round at the Aladdin Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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The Latin Snake and Shark Attack. No, this wasn't a doubleheader on "Animal Planet", but rather a middleweight fight between two fierce competitors, Sergio Mora and Archak Termeliksetian.

I've seen Mora fight on several occasions, thanks to "The Contender," the hit boxing reality series that aired last year on NBC. Not only did I like what he brought in the ring, I also liked how he was educated and well-read and foremost, trying to support his family through boxing. When Termeliksetian entered the arena, it was honestly the first time I've seen him fight. When he took off his shirt, I was impressed that he had a shark tattooed from the left of his back all the way over his shoulder to his chest. Unfortunately, that was just about the only thing that impressed me of "Shark Attack."

Of course, there was the left hook he landed on Mora's chin in the second round that sent Mora to the canvas, the first time he's even been knocked down in his professional career. But Mora bounced right back and if not for the knockdown, would have won the round in my eyes. Mora used his speed to his advantage and spent most of the fight on the inside, taking away any advantage Termeliksetian would have with his height and reach advantage. I felt Mora won every round but the second and late in the seventh round, Mora briefly stunned Termeliksetian with right hook, then unleashed at least ten good punches to a somewhat defenseless Termeliksetian before referee Robert Byrd jumped in a put the fight to a halt.

Termeliksetian had his wits about him as he and his corner quickly disputed the decision. Replays on television even show Termeliksetian starting to throw punches at the end of Mora's bombardment. But given the fact that Mora had the fight won up to that point on the scorecard and ending a fight early is always better than ending to too late, ultimately Byrd's decision was the correct one.

The undercard also featured a contestant from "The Contender," fan favorite Alfonso Gomez Jr. He faced Jesse Feliciano for the third time in his career, with each boxer splitting the contests. Neither fighter has stardom in their future, but they both love to throw punches and it made for one helluva fight. The fight went the entire scheduled eight rounds and in the end, the fight was called a majority draw. One judge had it 77-75 for Gomez (the same score I had) while the other two judges each had it 76-76. The finalCompuBox stats were also oddly even, with Gomez landing 282 of 785 punches (36%) and Feliciano connecting 274 of 791 punches (35%). Gomez is now 14-3-2 while Feliciano is now 14-5-3.

While the fans might want to see the two go at it for a fourth time, I could understand both fighters never wanted to face the other ever again!

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Round-by-Round Review

ROUND ONE

Both fighters have differing strategies, with Mora wanting to fight inside and Termeliksetian using his height to his advantage and pick Mora apart on the outside. The round has no real solid punches, but Mora takes the round by staying more active. SCORE: 10-9, Mora

ROUND TWO

Thirty seconds into the round, Termeliksetian lands a left hook flush on Mora's chin, sending Mora on his butt to the canvas. Mora bounces right back up and ends the round impressively with combinations. Commentator Teddy Atlas points out that Termeliksetian is fighting differently after the knockdown, abandoning his game plan of fighting outside. SCORE: 10-8, Termeliksetian (19-18, Termeliksetian)

ROUND THREE

Termeliksetian reverts to his style he had pre-Mora knockdown that looked like it could win him the fight. Unfortunately, he comes up empty on a few big hooks and was ineffective the rest of the round. Mora keeps going to the body, using combinations to score. As Termeliksetian complains of a low blow (I think it was a clean punch), Mora lands a few shots to the head. With thirty seconds left, Mora switches from orthodox to southpaw, a trademark of his. Mora closes the final ten seconds with a good series of punches. SCORE: 10-9, Mora (28-28, even)

ROUND FOUR

Termeliksetian goes back to trying to win the fight from the inside and actually starts off well until Mora decides to go toe-to-toe with him. Mora lands a good uppercut and triples up a jab, his best spurt of the fight up to this point. Mora closes the round with a good hook just after the bell sounds. SCORE: 10-9, Mora (38-37, Mora)

ROUND FIVE

Mora is consistently moving inside and alternating shots to the head and body. The problem is that he keeps moving out, instead of staying inside and punching Termeliksetian to death. With twenty seconds left, Mora rocks Termeliksetian with a beautiful uppercut that sends Termeliksetian into the corner, where Mora proceeds to land several right hands to the face. SCORE: 10-9, Mora (48-46, Mora)

ROUND SIX

The action slows a bit in this round, but one this is for sure: Mora is extremely accurate and out-punches Termeliksetian in the round. SCORE: 10-9, Mora (58-55, Mora)

ROUND SEVEN

Mora lands a right hook in the center of the ring, stunning Termeliksetian for a moment. Seizing the moment, Mora unleashes an assortment of hooks and uppercuts. It appears Termeliksetian could go down this round if Mora continues, but referee Robert Byrd quickly, and perhaps prematurely, pulls Mora away to stop the fight. Mora runs to his corner and leaps onto the bottom rope, proclaiming victory to the crowd. Meanwhile, Termeliksetian's corner is upset with Byrd, with Termeliksetian himself shoving the referee in disapproval.

Mora by TKO in Round 7.

Fight Preview: Mora-Termeliksetian

May 4, 2006: Sergio Mora (17-0, 3 KOs) vs. Archak Termeliksetian (15-3, 12 KOs), 10 rounds, middleweights. At the Aladdin Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. (ESPN)

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Sergio Mora is no stranger to being heavily promoted. Mora won the boxing reality show "The Contender," which not only earned him $1 million, but world-wide recognition. Mora headlines the night ESPN is calling "The Contender Special: Latin Warriors."

According to Mora in a recent ESPN.com chat, he turned down the chance to face Jermain Taylor. I believe Mora is at least two years away from contending for a middleweight championship, but he's off to a great start. His next step is to win on Thursday.

Mora faces relatively unknown Archak Termeliksetian, whose last two fights resulted in losses to undefeated opponents. Termeliksetian, 27, is a fierce puncher who has a shot at upsetting Mora's night if he can catch Mora on the chin. The Armenian-born Termeliksetian is also moving up to the middleweight division for the first time in his career.

Mora is extremely smart, both inside and outside of the ring; he reads and quotes some of the great philosophers. Mora is extremely exciting to watch, because even though he lacks a big power punch, his unorthodox style of boxing is what ultimately wears down his opponents. Mora tends to dictate the tempo of the fight and he'll change it from round to round. He also is very good defensively and will throw all types of punches from many angles. If "The Latin Snake" can avoid an early attack by Termeliksetian, he should win almost all the rounds convincingly.

Prediciton: Mora by unanimous decision.

Wild night as Freitas takes lightweight title

In what turned out to be one of the most sloppy title fights I've ever seen, Acelino Freitas (38-1, 32 KOs) won the vacant WBO lightweight title against Zahir Raheem (27-2, 16 KOs) by split decision at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut on April 29.

It was a strange night, to say the least. There was an accidental head butt, a wrestling takedown, and some headlocks. Both fighters even went to the canvas a total of nine times, all ruled slips or falls.

When all was said and done, the Brazilian Freitas won by split decision, earning the fourth world title of his career — he previously had held the WBO and WBA junior lightweight titles and the WBO lightweight title — and reclaiming the belt he lost to Diego Corrales in 2004.

Judges Glenn Feldman and Steve Weisfeld favored Freitas by margins of 116-112 and 115-113, respectively, while Clark Sammartino's score of 115-113 for Raheem was announced first.

The Blog and Weave card favored Raheem, 115-112.

Raheem echoed everyone who witnessed the fight by saying "I thought it was an ugly fight, a dogfight. I didn't feel like I was slipping punches and landing as sharply as I wanted to."

Freitas also thought the fight "was crazy."

"Crazy" would be putting it lightly. Not only what took place in the ring was odd but other moments also left me scratching my head. In the pre-fight introductions, it was explained that Freitas earned his nickname of "Popó" because his family was so poor, Freitas was breast-fed by his mother until he was five years old and "Popo" is Portuguese slang for "slurping." To top off the night, between Round 8 and 9, Raheem's cutman somehow ran out of cut medicine, causing the corner to scramble and search for medicine in the arena from another cutman.Back to the fight, Freitas hardly showed his trademark power and Raheem appeared to be scoring well. By final count from CompuBox, Raheem connected on 123 of 397 (31%) to 118 of 517 (23%) for Freitas. The disparity in power punches was even wider (and more surprising); Raheem landed 76 of 233 (33%) to 59 of 248 (24%) for the winner. I thought Raheem was the better boxer, even with his wild punches, constant slipping and his wrestling take-down of Freitas in the sixth round.

That said, Freitas appeared to be in more control, which might have swayed the judges' scorecards.

With the victory, Freitas could be in line for a rematch with Corrales, who faces Jose Luis Castillo on June 3.

On the undercard, middleweight middleweight Andre Ward (9-0, 5 KOs) TKO'd Andy Kolle (9-1, 7 KOs) after the sixth round. Ward's quick and powerful combinations caught Kolle and by the end of the fight, the southpaw was having trouble seeing out of his left eye. Kolle showed a lot of heart and a pretty impressive chin, but in the end, he was simply overmatched by Ward, the American gold medalist at the 2004 Olympics. Ward is an impressive prospect and should move through the division rather quickly.

The ShoBox: The Next Generation telecast also marked the new crew of Fran Charles, Max Kellerman and Lennox Lewis. Kellerman was great and Lewis added some insightful boxing knowledge.

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Round-by-Round Review

ROUND ONE

The round was mostly uneventful, with a lot of unsuccessful countering followed by clinching. With just less than a minute left, the two accidentally clashed heads. SCORE: 10-9, Freitas

ROUND TWO

What was supposed to be a title fight turned into a wrestling match. Raheem constantly fell forward after throwing wild punches, causing the two to constantly ram into each other, once sending both boxers to the canvas. SCORE: 10-9, Freitas (20-18, Freitas)

ROUND THREE

Once again, both boxers tangle and fall to the canvas. Raheem connects with a left jab late in the round for his first solid punch of the fight but Freitas still has the fight in control. SCORE: 10-9, Freitas (30-27, Freitas)

ROUND FOUR

Raheem, after another wild punch, slips and falls, but Smoger immediately waves off the knockdown and declares it a slip. More clinching between the two and with Freitas beginning to complain. SCORE: 10-9, Raheem (39-37, Freitas)

ROUND FIVE

Raheem throws a few good combos in the corner, then lands a straight right in the middle of the ring. It finally looks like Raheem is trying to actually win the fight. SCORE: 10-9, Raheem (48-47, Freitas)

ROUND SIX

Raheem hits Freitas with some good hooks, followed by a sharp left to Freitas' chin, causing Freitas to hold onto Raheem up against the ropes. Possibly in frustration, Raheem pushes Freitas off him and throws him to the canvas. Raheem instantly drops to one knee and pleads to Smoger not to disqualify him. On the ground, Freitas spits out his mouthpiece, a classic move to allow a boxer to retreat to his corner because he's in pain. SCORE: 10-9, Raheem (57-57, even)

ROUND SEVEN

Raheem appears to have the fight back in his favor and Freitas' corner seems to feel the same way, telling him to "Go for broke" between rounds. For the fifth time, Raheem takes a knee and again, it's ruled not a knockdown. The round is a microcosm of the entire fight: lots of lunging, slipping, wild punches. It looks amateurish at best. Raheem lands his best punch, a big right. The pace has slowed down, which ought to favor Raheem. SCORE: 10-9, Raheem (67-66, Raheem)

ROUND EIGHT

Raheem is sticking to his game plan, using speed and technique to match Freitas' power. Raheem scores with a few sharp jabs and later with a hard right that rocks Freitas. SCORE: 10-9, Raheem (77-75, Raheem)

ROUND NINE

Kellerman interviews Raheem's corner and finds out that Raheem's cutman has run out of cut medicine. Freitas connects a right uppercut to Raheem's chin, but Raheem still dominates the fight by landing more shots. SCORE: 10-9, Raheem (87-84, Raheem)

ROUND TEN

The action is really slowing down. It seems both boxers are looking to size up one another for the last two rounds. SCORE: 10-9, Freitas (96-94, Raheem)

ROUND ELEVEN

Freitas clocks Raheem with a good right late in the round which is the only significant punch during the three minutes. SCORE: 10-9, Freitas (105-104, Raheem)

ROUND TWELVE

In what seems like desperation, Freitas looks like he needs to knock out Raheem but a good flurry of punches in the final minute is enough for Raheem to win the round. SCORE: 10-9, Raheem (115-113, Raheem)

Freitas wins by split decision.

Standing Eight Count, May 1

I'm glad I watched Friday Night Fights and caught both Peterson brothers.  Older brother Lamont kept his record perfect (17-0, 7 KOs) in defeating southpaw Mario Ramos (16-3-1, 3 KOs) in a ten-round unanimous decision.  I scored the fight 99-91, with Ramos winning only the third round.  Ramos being a lefty seemed to cause a few problems for Peterson, but throughout the fight, he was patient and methodical and showed his great hand speed.  Although he's regarded as the better brother, it was little brother Anthony who impressed me the most.  Mind you, Anthony's opponent — Jermaine White (13-1, 7 KOs) — was no Ramos, but he dominated the fight nonetheless.  Whereas Lamont is the quicker and more sound technical boxer, for a junior welterweight, Lamont possesses an impressive left hook that he used to counter and ultimately knockout White.  Taking too many left hooks to both the body and head, White asked his corner to throw in the towel after the third round. You heard it here first: I think given his power, Anthony will eventually be the better of the two brothers and possibly become a champion.

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Speaking of power punchers, the more I see and read about Samuel Peter, the more he reminds me of Clubber Lang.

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There's a great story on at Yahoo! Sports about a pair of Israeli Arab sisters who are breaking cultural stigma by taking up boxing.  It's quite an interesting read.

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Undefeated super middleweight prospect Allan Green (20-0, 14 KOs) knocked out Daniel McCrary in the sixth round on Wednesday Night Fights.  Green landed some big punches but the most impressive thing about the fight was Green was able to come back after this barrage by McCrary in round three.  I'm not sure anyone could have stayed vertical after that, let alone go on to win the fight.

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Only two months after their meeting, it's been announced that Shane Mosley and Fernando Vargas will have a rematch on July 15 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas which will be aired on HBO Pay-Per-View. The February 25 fight was ended after ten rounds when referee Joe Cortez determined Vargas couldn't see out of his left eye, giving Mosley the victory.  Vargas complained afterwards he felt he could have kept fighting, but Cortez did the right think by not allowing the Elephant Man to go another round. A victory could put the winner in line for one last run at a junior middleweight title.  I like Mosely in the rematch, just as I did in the first fight.

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Dan Rafael of ESPN.com is reporting that Joe Calzaghe, #10 on Blog and Weave's current Pound-for-Pound rankings and IBF and WBO super middleweight champion, will jump networks, moving from Showtime to HBO.  If true, it's another big loss for Showtime boxing, as they were outbid by HBO for the rights to air light welterweight champion Ricky Hatton (#4 on Blog and Weave's Pound-for-Pound rankings.) Rafael also suggests that among Calzaghe's possible opponents for his scheduled July 8 fight are undefeated Allan Green or Peter Manfredo Jr. of "The Contender."  Both possibilities are quite exciting, as is the idea Rafael floats of Calzaghe possibly moving up to face Antonio Tarver (#7 on Blog and Weave's Pound-for-Pound rankings) sometime down the road.

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Jermain Taylor (#6 on Blog and Weave's Pound-for-Pound rankings) may lose his WBA middleweight championship, pending an investigation. Taylor, who once owned all four major middleweight belts after defeating Bernard Hopkins last July, has already been stripped of his IBF championship when he failed to face a mandatory challenger, instead opting to give Hopkins a rematch in December, in which Taylor won by unanimous decision.

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For all you Oscar De La Hoya fans out there, the Golden Boy will be on the "Tonight Show" tonight.  I'm sure he'll want to discuss Golden Boy Promotions and his upcoming fight with Ricardo Mayorga, but I look for Jay Leno to try and get De La Hoya to talk some trash.

Peter makes short work of Long

Needing only two minutes and 35 seconds, heavyweight hopeful Samuel Peter (26-1, 22 KOs) knocked out seven-footer Julius Long (14-8, 12 KOs) to win the NABF heavyweight championship on Friday night.

Don't feel bad if you didn't see the booming right hand Peter connected with Long's head…Long probably didn't see it either.  Peter dominated the fight right away, sending Long to one knee a minute into the bout.  After a barrage of punches, Long was sent into the ropes, only to stay there for a second before bouncing right into Long's punch, knocking Long just about cold.  The first-round knockout was the seventh of Peter's career, but his first since 2001.

With the win, Peter became the NABF champion, which is sort of like a United States presidential hopeful being voted mayor.  Even though Peter showed up to the fight thirteen more pounds (256) than he was in his last fight, a 2005 loss to Wladimir Klitschko, he didn't look at all flabby.  What happens next for Peter remains to be seen, as all the top heavyweights already have fights lined up. 

Undefeated Calvin Brock was in the ESPN studio with Brian Kenny, helping analyze the night's fights.  When asked about Peter, Brock seemed to run away scared, saying "I don't see myself boxing [Peter] unless I have to."  If a rematch with Klitschko isn't possible, the fans may just want to see Peter go toe-to-toe with Brock.