SHOWTIME 2 WILL RE-BROADCAST THE EVENT ON WEDNESDAY AT 9:30 P.M. ET/PT

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (Aug. 2, 2009) – Timothy "Desert Storm" Bradley retained his World Boxing Organization junior welterweight title in Rancho Mirage, Calif., on Saturday after referee David Mendoza incorrectly ruled in round three that an obvious head butt, which caused a bleeding gash over Nate "Galaxxy Warrior" Campbell's left eye, was caused by a punch. 

Campbell complained of problems with his vision during the one-minute break between rounds three and four that caused the ringside physician to halt the contest.  The replays shown on the SHOWTIME telecast caused analyst Al Bernstein to conclude the gash over Campbell's eye was caused by an accidental clash of heads that should have resulted in a "no contest" ruling.

An obviously distraught Campbell told Bradley in the ring after the fight, "Be fair.  Be honest.  It's about what is right and what is wrong," intimating that Bradley should admit to the world the cut was caused by a head butt and agree to an immediate rematch.

In the televised co-feature, undefeated Devon Alexander "The Great" won his first world championship in a tremendous performance against former world champion Junior "The Hitter" Witter.  The St. Louis native won the vacant World Boxing Council super lightweight title by battering Witter so badly that he quit on his stool before round nine could begin.

In the main event, both Campbell and Bradley came out strong in the first round landing punches and pressing the action.  In the third, after an accidental clash of heads, Campbell signaled to Mendoza to acknowledge the mishap as Bradley unleashed a fury of punches before the bell. 

Campbell returned to his corner with blood surrounding his eye and was heard saying, "I can't see, I can't see.  My eye is blind. I have spots in my eye."

Ringside physicians could not allow the bout to continue and Campbell offered no protest as the fight was called.

When the decision was announced - a technical-knockout victory for Bradley, rather than no contest - heated arguments ensued from Campbell, his camp and his promoter Don King.  

Campbell told SHOWTIME reporter Jim Gray, with Bradley standing close by, "Of all the fighters in boxing, I am the only one who has fought anyone you put in front of me and I never complained about a decision.  The camera caught it and the ref said it was a head butt.  He never hurt me with nothing.  I'm not mad with Tim. He did his job but this is wrong.  I shouldn't have that TKO on my record.  It's wrong."

Mendoza, after obviously blowing the call, made the best defense of his actions he could after watching the replay.

"They both were head butting each other as they were fighting and after that last head butt, Bradley threw a punch and that is when he started bleeding.  The blood didn't start coming out until the punch.  The last thing I saw before the blood started coming out was a punch and I have to go with a punch."

When it was Bradley's turn to talk, he said, "I don't know, I was just in there fighting.  I felt our heads collide and I see him get a cut.  But I attacked and the ref was doing his job. I don't know what's going on.  I'm here doing my job taking care of my business in the ring.  It's not my job and not my problem.  It didn't even matter.  He was going to get beat tonight anyway.  As the rounds kept going on, he was getting older and older."

The co-feature showed that Alexander was able to withstand and eventually conquer Witter, a Brit known for his unorthodox fighting style.  Witter switched stances throughout the contest - and threw wild shots - but he was frustrated by his inability to hurt Alexander, who showed off impressive defensive skills surely learned from fighting in the Cory Spinks stable for years. 

After having been tagged by a straight left hand that staggered him in round five--and a number of pulverizing right hooks throughout the contest - Witter walked over to Alexander before round nine began to let him know he had thrown in the towel. 

"My elbow went in the fourth round and basically I couldn't keep him off with one hand," Witter said in his dressing room after the fight.  "I battled through for a few rounds.  I kept switching, which was working to an extent but I couldn't box the way I wanted to.  I didn't feel good. I didn't feel good at all." 

When asked if the decision was his or came from his corner, "It was a mutual agreement. We decided to let this one go.   As much as I wanted to do it, I just wasn't able to.  It's not that I wanted to quit, I wanted to win. I think it was a close fight."

Witter was not nearly as close in the fight as he thought he was.  One judge gave every round to Alexander, at 80-72, and the remaining two scorers were in agreement, giving all but one round to Alexander, 79-73.

An extremely emotional Alexander was humbled by the win and remembered his father who passed away when he was a teenager.

"This feels good, baby.  This is to my dad.  I got it now. I got it. I train hard every day. I didn't miss a day at the gym when I was an amateur and I stay dedicated through my professional career.  Now, I have the green belt, the title. My coach [Kevin Cunningham] never gave up on me and now I got it.  I had Don King with me and he never gave up on me.  We are taking it [a world title] back to St. Louis."

The 22-year-old phenom continued, "I've got a dynamite team and we had a game plan.  We had an 'A' plan, a 'B' plan, and a 'C' plan.  We had all of it.  I told him [Witter] in the press conference there is nothing he could do in the ring to stop me from walking out with that belt."

Saturday's telecast will re-air on SHOWTIME and the premium network's multiplexes this week including Wednesday (Aug. 5) at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME 2 as well as ON DEMAND from Aug. 4 to Aug. 31.

Devon Alexander vs. Junior Witter Photo Credit: TOM CASINO/SHOWTIME

Timothy Bradley vs. Nate Campbell Photo Credit: TOM CASINO/SHOWTIME

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