BATTLE FOR SUPREMACY

THE RESULT
Saturday, November 13, 2004

Chris Byrd vs Jameel McCline
IBF Heavyweight Championship

Giving up 56 pounds and a 4-inch height advantage, Chris Byrd retained his IBF heavyweight title, winning the 12-rounder by the closest of margins over "Big Time" Jameel McCline.

McCline stormed to an early lead sweeping the first 4 of 5 rounds, including a big knockdown in the second round. Then, McCline found out why Byrd is the champion and why you must fight twelve rounds to win. As McCline's work rate tailed off, Byrd's kicked in.

The defending champ won 6 of the last 7 rounds to deservedly win the contest.

John Ruiz vs Andrew Golota
WBA Heavyweight Championship

In an ugly and at times foul plagued bout, WBA heavyweight champ, "The Quiet Man" John Ruiz, won a unanimous decision over Andrew Golota over 12 rounds.

Golota started well enough and had Ruiz in big trouble in the second round, dropping the champ twice. Afterwards, though, Ruiz hit and hold method of fighting took its toll and Golota just seemed content to allow Ruiz to dictate this mess the rest of the night.

A disappointing performance for Golota, who under-performs as usual in big fights. Ruiz's performance leaves much to be desired. That, too, as usual.

Evander Holyfield vs Larry Donald
Hasim Rahman vs Kali Meehan
Non-Championship Heavyweight Bouts

In the two non-championship bouts on the same card, Larry Donald won a 12-round unanimous decison over Evander Holyfield, and Hasim Rahman won a 4th-round TKO over Kali Meehan when Meehan's corner called a halt to the contest after the 4th round.