Allan Green won a unanimous decision over Tarvis Simms in Oklahoma. But the real story of the night was some negligent officiating in the welterweight co-feature between Antwone Smith and Henry Crawford.

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Allan Green won a unanimous decision over Tarvis Simms in the main event of last night's Shobox from Newkirk, OK, improving to 29-1 (20) with the victory. Green likely keeps his spot as the Super Six alternate, but credit should be given to Simms, who at 38 came in on a few days' notice and fought a taller, stronger, younger and more athletic fighter and gave him a tougher time than most might have expected. Bad Left Hook actually scored it a 95-95 draw, as Simms clearly gave Green a ton of trouble mentally, and we got the Green that gets lazy tonight, rather than the Green that comes out for the kill.

Of course, do credit Green, too. He didn't have to take Simms, a damn sound fighter and a lefty, on such short notice. Simms is a much better fighter than Green's originally-scheduled opponent, Victor Oganov. Not a puncher, but a good defensive fighter who made Green hit a lot of gloves and elbows, and also just plain miss plenty. Official scores (being that Green is from Oklahoma) were 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93.

It was the night's featured undercard bout, though, that provide the action, the drama, and really, a fair bit of controversy. In a welterweight battle, Antwone Smith scored another big win, taking Henry Crawford's "0" with a TKO/RTD win following nine rounds.

In the earlygoing, Crawford was clearly the faster, stronger fighter, but Smith, as always, plugged away. He's not much of a boxer, really. He does a lot of things wrong, he doesn't finish (we'll get to that), and he can gas himself out, which he did at one point tonight. But it was Crawford that got exhausted first in this fight, and it cost him.

In the sixth round, Crawford was knocked down and then staggered around the ring for about two minutes, taking constant punishment with glassy eyes and his hands down. There is no question that referee Gerald Ritter or Crawford's corner should have stopped the fight during that round or after. Crawford wound up winning the next two rounds on the BLH card, but it was more due to Smith being tired after throwing a metric ton of wild punches trying to put Crawford away in the sixth.

In the ninth, Crawford walked into a bomb of a right hand from Smith, and went down like a big oak tree. Delayed reaction, slow fall, the whole nine. Again, he was so clearly out on his feet that any decent referee in the world would have waved it off. Crawford, though, was allowed to continue. Luckily, the bell sounded before Smith could walk up to him and cave his face in, because it was obvious Crawford's hands weren't going up.

Crawford, who had drooled his water back out between rounds prior to the vicious second knockdown, was yelled at by his corner, who tried to get his attention, get him to look up. In fact, the first thing they said when he said down was a communication between corner men: "Wake up! Wake him up!" and out came the sponge. Eventually, the corner couldn't possibly have sent him back out for the tenth round, and they mercifully saved Crawford from a potentially horrible situation. He barely had any clue where he was.

But the bigger issue than even the corner is this: Where was the referee to protect the fighter? And why didn't the ringside doctor go take a look at this man who was OBVIOUSLY messed up between rounds from the sixth through the ninth? Not once did the physician go over to Henry Crawford and ask him how he felt. He was struggling to respond to instructions and seemed to be fighting on instinct.

Fact is, this fight may have ruined Crawford, which I hope isn't the case, but he took an ugly, unnecessary beating and was unable to protect himself for the majority of the sixth, then got his brain smashed again in the ninth.

Had Crawford even come back to win that fight, it wouldn't change the fact that it was the wrong decision to let him keep taking punishment in the sixth round, and that letting him go back out for the seventh was just as wrong.

Smith is now 17-1-1 (9), while Crawford falls to 23-1-1 (9).

In the TV opener, Marcus "Too Much" Johnson improved to 18-0 with an eight-round decision win over a very tough, very game but totally outgunned Victor Villereal in super middleweight action. Johnson won the fight 80-71 on every card, and Bad Left Hook scored it the same.

Live results, round-by-round scoring and commentary will start with the Shobox broadcast on Showtime at 11pm ET. It's a triple-header, so we'll be up late.

Tonight's Shobox from Newkirk, Oklahoma, will feature a solid main event between super middleweight contender and Super Six alternate Allan Green (28-1, 20 KO) and undefeated, 38-year old Tarvis Simms (25-0, 11 KO). Green is someone who seems to almost refuse to move above this level despite his talent. I'm actually a big supporter of his despite any criticisms, because I think he's a legit contender and a good fighter.

Green was originally slated to face an arguably easier opponent, debunked puncher Victor Oganov (28-2, 28 KO), who has been handled easily by Fulgencio Zuniga (TKO-9) and Andre Dirrell (TKO-6). Oganov's impressive 100% KO rate has been padded by tomato cans and journeymen. Green would likely have out-quicked him without breaking a sweat.

Simms is craftier, though he's a big underdog tonight anyway. It's nice that Tarvis will risk that "0" against a good fighter, and though this might not bring the sizzle that Green-Oganov could have if it broke down into a war, I like Green-Simms a little better because I think Simms has an outside shot at the win, whereas I thought Oganov had essentially no shot at beating Allan.

Green is famous for a few things: A bad habit of looking at his own feet while he fights, his 18-second knockout of Jaidon Codrington in 2005, and for being rumored to fight top guys several times per year. Just this year he's been a potential opponent for Carl Froch, Jermain Taylor and Lucian Bute, and none of the fights have panned out.

On the undercard, we'll see a welterweight showdown between Antwone Smith (16-1-1, 8 KO) and unbeaten Henry Crawford (22-0-1, 9 KO). Smith, 22, has become an upset dandy this year, with back-to-back wins over then-unbeaten Norberto Gonzalez and former fringe contender Richard Gutierrez. Crawford, 28, is stepping up in class pretty significantly against Smith. A win for Smith would likely polish off what has been a really great 2009 for him, but a Crawford victory would give him a real feather in his cap.

The delightfully nicknamed and former amateur standout Marcus "Too Much" Johnson (17-0, 14 KO) gets a showcase fight against Victor Villereal (8-3-2, 4 KO) in a super middleweight opener. I've seen Johnson just once before, on that Don King webcast of Spinks-Phillips back in March 2008. He blitzed the hell out of the guy he fought that night, winning a first round knockout. He was really rough around the edges but did have obvious potential. A similar fate likely awaits Villereal. Thomas Gerbasi did an excellent piece on Marcus Johnson a few days ago.

For a full look at the size difference in tonight's main event, check out this snap from the weigh-in:

Simms looks like a welterweight, Green looks like a light heavy.

The biggest fight in New Zealand history: David Tua surprised many with a rather svelte weigh-in for his heavyweight clash with Shane Cameron. (Photo via www.odt.co.nz)

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Tarvis Simms struggled a bit, but a hallway jump-rope session got him down to the agreed-upon weight limit for his Shobox main event tonight in Oklahoma against Allan Green (28-1, 20 KO). Simms (25-0, 11 KO) was a late replacement for Victor Oganov in the fight, and he and Green agreed on a weight limit of 168.8 pounds, just north of the super middleweight limit of 168. Green came in at 167.6, and after missing the mark at first, Simms made it down to 168.8 on a second try. The biggest issue for Simms might come from the fact that he'll have a huge height disadvantage, as the 6'1" Green will tower over 5'9", 38-year old Simms.

Also on the Shobox card:

Welterweights: Antwone Smith 147.6, Henry Crawford 146.4

Super Middleweights: Marcus Johnson 168.8, Victor Villereal 166.2

Leading into the biggest fight in the history of New Zealand, heavyweights David Tua and Shane Cameron hit the scales, with Cameron coming in at 228 pounds, and Tua surprising a lot of folks with a rather slim weigh-in of 237. Tua (49-3-1, 42 KO) turns 37 in November, and this is likely going to be his final run. He hasn't fought since 2007, when he had a nice three-fight run with wins over tough journeyman Robert Hawkins (UD-10), Saul Montana (KO-1) and Cerrone Fox (TKO-2). Tua-Montana, as an aside, was the first fight to which I was ever offered credentials, but I held back the urge to go to exciting Salt Lake City to watch Tua predictably wipe him out.

Cameron (23-1, 20 KO) might be heading to a similar fate. I don't say this to be a jerk or downplay his ability, but David Tua has been around the world and was a world title-level contender, just a massive puncher. Cameron isn't the first guy to have a big height advantage against Tua, nor is he the guy with the biggest height advantage against Tua, and Cameron has fought in New Zealand his entire career for a reason. The most notable name on his hit list is Terry Smith, who was never all that great and was shot by the time Cameron got him in August '08, having lost his last three fights in a row. I'm kind of guessing Tua turns out the lights by round five in this one. The fight is available via stream from Seconds Out for about $13 American.

"Marvelous" Tarvis Simms will be the new October 2 opponent for Allan Green. Simms replaces the injured Victor Oganov. (Photo via readingeagle.com)

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When Victor Oganov dropped out of his October 2 "Shobox" main event against Allan Green the other day, the hope was that a suitable replacement could be found. Instead, Green might be getting a better test out of the deal.

BoxingScene.com's Rick Reeno says a deal has been reached for Green (28-1, 20 KO) to face Tarvis Simms (25-0-1, 11 KO). Simms, 38, turned pro in 1997 but has moved very, very slowly. His twin brother, Travis, is a former junior middleweight titlist who has had a mountain of trouble with promoters over his career.

Simms would be a nice scalp for Green, who would in theory take an unbeaten record and look good as he continues to talk big about fighting top guys but instead fights guys like Oganov or Simms. Green was offered a fight with Sakio Bika on the Mayweather-Marquez undercard, which obviously didn't happen. Think he might regret that one now with the one million-plus eyes on that card?

For Simms, this is a chance to break through finally and potentially land a big fight. Green is currently the alternate for the Super Six tournament, in case someone gets hurt or just quits or whatever. If Simms can pull off the upset against Green, he makes a good case for himself to inherit that role, even though his resume is pretty weak overall. Simms last fought in August, winning a split decision over journeyman Marcus Upshaw. Green was last seen starching Carlos de Leon Jr. inside of two rounds on the Froch-Taylor undercard in April.