Timothy Bradley and Nate Campbell nearly came to blows after the California hearing that overturned Bradley's TKO win on August 1. (Photo credit Tom Casino / Showtime, via www.donking.com)

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As we discussed earlier, Timothy Bradley's August 1 win over Nate Campbell was rightly changed to a no-contest. The story, however, didn't end there.

Rick Reeno of BoxingScene.com reports that Bradley and Campbell almost engaged in a streetfight rematch after the hearing, with the two exchanging heated words and being separated by Bradley's father, as well as Campbell's attorney Josh Dubin and manager Terry Trekas.

From BoxingScene:

Bradley was walking about ten feet ahed of Campbell when -- according to witnesses -- he turned around and began to tell Campbell, "You got away with quitting, you got away with quitting." At that point, both fighters exchanged some heavy language, which led to Campbell taking off his jacket and walking over to Bradley to settle the dispute with their fists.

Bradley's father jumped in front of his son before the scene would get violent. Trekas and Dubin tried to calm Campbell down, who was in the zone.

"You're a punk ass bitch hiding behind your daddy. Just let him go, he's grown, just let him come out here. You're going to see me again. You might see me in the ring or you might see me on a sidewalk like this, but you will see [me]," Campbell was alleged to have said.

The two were eventually calmed by a member of the California State Athletic Commission, who reminded them that they are "both licensees," indicating that something like this could have led to a possible suspension of one or both men.

Part of me considers the idea that this could be a stage show to drum up interest in a rematch, but Campbell -- while down to earth and cool -- has been hot-headed in the past. When Juan Diaz ridiculously accused Campbell of using steroids after their 2008 fight, Campbell offered to travel to Houston and "beat his fat ass for free." It's not surprising that Campbell would react this way to someone telling him he quit and got lucky to have the decision overturned.

But either way, it's an interesting story. I'd have to guess that Don King and Gary Shaw will use this and try to make a rematch, intentional or not.

The California State Athletic Commission correctly ruled that the August 1 bout between Timothy Bradley and Nate Campbell is to be considered a no-contest. The original call was a TKO win for Bradley. The bout was stopped due to a cut caused by an accidental headbutt. (Photo via www.boxnews.com.ua)

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The August 1 bout between 140-pound titlist Timothy Bradley and Nate Campbell has been ruled a no-contest by the California State Athletic Commission, reports Rick Reeno.

This is, of course, the correct and just decision. The original decision was a third-round TKO win for Bradley, when after the round Campbell declared he could no longer see out of his eye. Referee David Mendoza incorrectly ruled that a cut over the eye had come from a punch. Replays on Showtime conclusively showed that the wound came from an accidental headbutt by Bradley. Campbell immediately appealed to the CSAC to have the decision overturned, and today the correct ruling came back.

Right now, Campbell is on the mend. The cut wasn't the real problem, it was that Campbell suffered vitreous hemmorhage in the eye. Both fighters indicated after the bout ended that they'd be open to a rematch, as did Campbell's promoter, Don King. Gary Shaw (Bradley's promoter) was far less committal, but the fact of the matter is there just might not be a better fight for him at the moment.

With the ruling changed, Bradley's record returns to 24-0 (11), while Campbell stays at 33-5-1 (25). I'm actually surprised and thrilled to see the commission overturn the error by referee Mendoza, and happy that Nate gets the loss off of his record.

 Yesterday, Nate Campbell made a post fight statement to Fightnews regarding the Timothy Bradley fight and the injury that caused impairment of his vision:

First of all, I want to let everyone know that I am OK. There is no permanent damage to my retina. I was taken from ringside to the hospital, and was treated for what they called a vitreous hemorrhage behind my left eye. The ophthalmologist that treated me at the hospital advised me that the impairment to the vision in my left eye should clear up completely within a few days to a week at most. Never in my career have I had an injury like this where I simply couldnt see out of an eye. I’ve had cuts 100 times worse than this that I fought through, and would have done the same in this instance, however this was something different. This was not something my cutman could have dealt with.

Campbell went on to say that within about 5 seconds after the major headbutt (when he started complaining to the referee), he started to have a big spot moving across his eye, where he could no longer see out of it.  He also said it wasn't the cut that was the problem, but the bleeding behind the eye. 

I have little reason to doubt Campbell here.  Everything he's said in the statement is completely consistent with what he was saying on fight night, and I've seen him fight through some bad gashes before. 

However, there is a question as to whether the fight actually would be called a no contest if the results are changed.  As usual, before the match, the commentators said the fight was under the Unified Rules, which would mean that a stoppage before the end of the fourth due to a clash of heads would result in a no contest. 

However, under the California State Code of Regulations, the result is that the contest should be declared a draw:

If the referee and/or the ringside physician determine that the bout may not continue because of an injury suffered as the result of an unintentional foul or because of an injury inflicted by an unintentional foul which later becomes aggravated by fair blows, the bout must be declared a draw if the bout is stopped before the bell rings to begin the fourth round. After the bell rings to begin the fourth round, the outcome shall be determined by scoring the completed rounds and the round during which the referee or ringside physician stopped the bout.

For whatever it's worth, Toney-Rahman II also took place in California, and had a similar situation.  In the third round of the fight, Toney was bobbing and hit Rahman over the eye with his head.  Between rounds, the referee went to inspect Rahman, who said he wanted to stop the fight because of the cut.  The referee did stop the fight, declaring it a TKO victory for Toney.  Rahman appealed, and the CSAC changed it to a no contest.  The one big difference, however, is that in that fight, the referee had already acknowledged that the cut was due to a butt and not to a punch, whereas in this one the referee just plain blew the call.  The fact that it was human error rather than lack of knowledge of the rules by the referee may lead to a different result in this case.  As an aside, in his fight, Rahman was clearly just looking for an excuse to end the fight and leave with his dignity intact.  Campbell, on the other hand, seemed truly panicked that he couldn't see, and didn't seem to be looking for a way out simply because he was losing the fight, but more because he couldn't tell what the heck was going on.

Hopefully the Commission makes right by this one.  Whether or not Campbell was "looking for a way out", the reason he was looking for a way out was because of a serious injury caused by an accidental butt.  Had he continued, he could have suffered permanent eye damage, ending his career.  There shouldn't be any shame in quitting if your health is in serious danger, and the rules are the rules.  Even the referee admitted after the fight that there was a headbutt, just that he thought the injuries were caused by a subsequent punch (which, on replay, clearly hit nowhere the injured area).  Note that under California law, quoted above, it's still the same result if the injury "later becomes aggrevated by fair blows."  Whether it's changed to a no contest or a draw, this one shouldn't go down as a loss on Nate Campbell's record.

Timothy Bradley outclassed Nate Campbell over three rounds, but the official decision was unjust. Is there any real intrigue in a rematch? (AP Photo)

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Just as I was about to start putting this post together, I saw that Yahoo! Sports boxing analyst Kevin Iole had pretty much the same thoughts I was going to express.

Campbell doesn’t deserve the loss on his record.

Whatever the commission decides, though, won’t really matter. Because anyone watching the World Boxing Organization super lightweight title bout knows who the better man was in the nationally televised bout.

Those who saw the bout know who the faster man was.

Those who saw the bout know who the better defensive fighter was.

Those who saw the bout know who was dictating the pace and controlling the action.

Those who saw the bout know who was landing the sharper, harder punches.

It’s about time that Bradley gets serious consideration for a spot in the top 10 pound-for-pound rankings. He clearly was outclassing a high-caliber opponent.

I think the top 10 pound-for-pound talk might be a tad premature. After all, Nate Campbell is a tough, resilient guy. There is that chance that had the fight not been stopped because of the cut caused by the headbutt, Nate would have dug down deep and found a reserve of energy and life, and put a charge into Bradley. After all, Nate's a good (and underrated) puncher, a guy who can change a fight with a good flurry, and a legit fighter.

But was it going to happen? Judging by those few rounds, I don't think so, but then I didn't think he'd beat Juan Diaz in 2008, either. And it wasn't until the middle rounds that he started putting the hurt on Diaz in a big way.

Campbell deserves the decision to be changed to a no-contest. In my mind, there is not one shred of doubt about that. The rules are the rules. But does Bradley really need to fight him again? Campbell also probably deserves a rematch, but that doesn't mean it's all that interesting. Bradley's promoter, Gary Shaw, said they'd consider it if: (1) the money is right, and (2) Showtime wants to buy the fight.

Could you blame Showtime if they'd rather have something potentially more compelling? Timothy Bradley is not going to get a fight with current 140-pound world champion Manny Pacquiao, so you can count that out. And though 140 is a solid division, is there anyone really that much better than Campbell as a challenger?

Bradley's already beaten Kendall Holt convincingly despite suffering two knockdowns. Devon Alexander won the WBC title last night, but I think we can all agree that while Alexander is good and rising, he's not in Bradley's league just yet. Ricky Hatton could potentially be an option, but I'm not sure Hatton would want to fight such a fast, strong, young fighter at this stage of his career.

For the time being, Nate Campbell might well be the best option -- in terms of money and challenge -- that there is. And that just might be an unfortunate circumstance.

Nate Campbell has already begun the process of appealing his controversial loss to Timothy Bradley on Saturday night. (AP Photo)

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As expected, Nate Campbell is going to appeal to the California State Athletic Commission to change the TKO loss he suffered last night against Timothy Bradley, looking for a no-contest ruling due to the fact that his injury was caused by an accidental clash of heads.

According to Campbell's co-promoter, Terry Trekas, says that the fight was not stopped by a cut, but rather because the ringside physician saw blood behind Campbell's eye and was worried about possible retina damage. Campbell went to the hospital after the fight as directed, but not before giving his side of the story in the ring and kind of starting a showdown between promoters Don King and Gary Shaw.

I said already that I think the decision clearly should be changed to a no-contest, and it's no fault of Bradley's. Timothy was clearly the fresher and stronger fighter for the first three rounds, in my view, and seemed well on his way to a potentially dominant victory. But there are rules to protect fighters and they're there for a reason. If Campbell had possible retina damage, the fight had to be stopped, and the fact is that replays obviously show that the damaging blow was a headbutt. There is absolutely no question about that.

It's also no great condemnation of referee David Mendoza. Yes, he missed the call, but it happens. But the missed call was very important and the decision wasn't just. It's as simple as that.

Timothy Bradley retained his WBO junior welterweight title against Nate Campbell, but controversy ruled the day. (via www.latimes.com)

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In a main event destined for a filed protest from the challenger, Timothy Bradley retained his WBO junior welterweight title when Nate Campbell had blurred vision after three rounds and the fight was stopped. Replays showed conclusively that a cut was opened up on an accidental clash of heads, which referee David Mendoza apparently missed. It was poor refereeing and the entire situation was a mess, adding to a disappointing night on Showtime Championship Boxing.

Bradley (25-0, 12 KO) says he'll fight Campbell (33-6-1, 25 KO) in a rematch, even going so far as to say he'll do it in Florida. Campbell was positively livid, not with Bradley, but with referee Mendoza. Bradley was clearly the better man for the first three rounds and no one will argue that; he dominated Campbell in round three particularly, but Campbell also clearly lost something when he initially complained of a headbutt.

There is no doubt Campbell will take this to the CSAC and look to get the decision changed to a no-contest. I think it's only right that the decision is changed, but it's rare that these things work out that way.

In the opening televised bout, Junior Witter quit after eight rounds against Devon Alexander. Referee Dr. Lou Moret warned Witter about holding between the eighth and ninth rounds, and told him it wouldn't be tolerated anymore. Witter did hold a ton, but his awkward style gave Alexander some trouble, though Devon was ahead on every card. I had the fight a draw, but was definitely in the minority.

When the corner was told Witter was in danger of a point being taken or the like, they called the fight. Alexander (19-0, 12 KO) is now the WBC junior welterweight titlist. Witter (37-3-2, 22 KO) said after the fight that he had hurt his elbow, and also said this would not be his last fight, just in case anyone is wondering.

Note: I'll be out of action tomorrow as I'm moving and Comcast won't be able to get me set up at my new place until Monday.

Round-by-round coverage and scoring starts tonight at 9pm ET, with Showtime televising this card. It might well shuffle the 140-pound rankings around a fair amount, and both are significant fights. Join us!

Will Timothy Bradley retain his WBO junior welterweight title, or will Nate Campbell take the crown? (via www.boxnews.com.ua)

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Bad Left Hook will have live, round-by-round coverage and scoring for this junior welterweight title double shot. I'm going to try to figure out a way to automate the picks standings sometime, but for now I'm not really able to keep up with them. Still, it's fun to make picks and talk about the fights.

Timothy Bradley v. Nate Campbell (12 Rounds - Bradley's WBO junior welterweight title on the line)

Bradley, 25, and Campbell, 37, will meet in the main event in California, giving Bradley something of a home field advantage. But that shouldn't much bother Campbell, who figures to serve as the toughest test of Bradley's career. Bradley (24-0, 11 KO) is on quite a roll after upsetting Junior Witter last year for the WBC title, which he gave up after unifying it with the WBO strap against Kendall Holt in April. Between those fights, he beat Edner Cherry.

Campbell won in February against lightweight Ali Funeka, forfeiting his titles on the scales when he couldn't make the 135-pound limit. He gutted out a victory over an awkward, dangerous, younger fighter, and promised a move to 140 afterward. This is his first official fight at 140 pounds.

Campbell probably isn't quite as old as he is on paper. He didn't turn pro until he was 28 in 2000, so his body hasn't taken the 15-20 years of punishment that can be standard for a 37-year old pro fighter. Since a 2006 loss to Isaac Hlatswayo, Campbell (33-5-1, 25 KO) has been near dominant, destroying both Matt Zegan and Ricky Quiles in back-to-back IBF lightweight title eliminators. He didn't get his shot until Julio Diaz lost the strap to Juan Diaz, which set up a fight in Mexico between fellow Don King fighters Juan Diaz and Campbell. Campbell upset the then-unbeaten Diaz, but a fight with Joan Guzman was scrapped when Guzman pulled out, which led Campbell to declare bankruptcy. It was nearly a year between the career-making win over Diaz and his first fight back, the win over Funeka.

Bradley has shown a lot of talent and a really well-rounded game since emerging from prospect to titleholder and top line fighter with the win over Witter. He's also got more power than his KO rate suggests, but if Campbell's power translates five pounds up, I don't think there's any question that Nate is the better puncher. Bradley is also the smaller man; Campbell officially has an inch of height (5'7" to 5'6") and three important inches of reach (72" to 69") on the titlist.

This is one of those 50-50 fights, and promises to be a pretty good action bout. It probably won't be a war, though Campbell may try to gut-check Bradley and make it one, the same as he did against Diaz, who at the time was higher-regarded than Bradley is now as a young star. Campbell has taken promising young fighters to depths they'd never seen before. But Bradley has beaten good veterans before, too. I'm going with my gut on this one more than anything else, because a great case can be made for either man. Campbell SD-12

Junior Witter v. Devon Alexander (12 Rounds - vacant WBC junior welterweight title on the line)

This is a crossroads fight. If 35-year old Witter loses, he's reduced entirely to "regional fighter" status. The loss to Bradley in '08 was closer than a lot of people remember it being. He wasn't outclassed, he just didn't seem on top of his game. Alexander, 22, is about where Bradley was. He's highly-regarded, but the questions are still there. How will he handle a tricky pro like Witter? He does have a win over former titlist Chop-Chop Corley, who is faded, and since then has been beating trial horses like Miguel Callist and Jesus Rodriguez.

Speed will be no problem for Alexander. Past perhaps Pacquiao, he might have the quickest hands in the division. He's not particularly heavy handed, but he can put shots together really well. Alexander (18-0, 11 KO) will have truly arrived if he can pull off a win over Witter (37-2-2, 22 KO) whose only losses ever have come to Bradley and Zab Judah.

Witter has spent a lot of the build-up talking about what he wants to do next, particularly a fight with fellow Brit Amir Khan. Witter says he isn't getting ahead of himself, but I've got the feeling he is. I see Alexander outhustling and out-"wow"ing Witter to a decision win. Alexander UD-12

Junior Witter seems focused on everyone besides Devon Alexander, his opponent on Saturday. (via img.dailymail.co.uk)

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Junior Witter is obsessed with a potential fight against Amir Khan, so much so that I think he's flat-out underestimating Devon Alexander, his opponent this Saturday on Showtime. Witter has been talking about fighting Khan almost non-stop since Khan's win over Andriy Kotelnik on July 18, and predicting a win for himself within three rounds.

The last time Witter faced a rising young American, it was Timothy Bradley, who wound up beating him on his own turf. Bradley will main event on Saturday against Nate Campbell. I don't think Alexander is quite as good now as Bradley was then, but I'm also not certain about that. The fact of the matter is that whatever Alexander lacks in big fight experience, he makes up for in hand speed. He's one of the fastest guys out there. I can honestly see him winning a pretty wide decision against Witter if Junior isn't on his game.

Witter says the fight he wants most is a rematch with Bradley, but also name checks Campbell, Khan again, and old press rival Ricky Hatton, although he also says he's "washed his hands" of a potential fight with Hatton: "Realistically, he's not going to fight me," he says, catching up to what everyone else knew five years ago.

I don't dislike Junior Witter at all. I think he's a good fighter -- better than he's sometimes given credit for -- and I always said that I'd have picked him over Hatton because I thought he was a perfect style to beat Hatton. But if he loses to Alexander, there aren't a whole lot of places to go besides domestic fights. He's 35 years old and not getting younger.

As for Alexander, there's a nice piece on him at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch featuring trainer Kevin Cunningham, and their longtime connection with Cory Spinks, who Cunningham said has been invaluable in training for this fight:

"I studied a couple of fights on Junior Witter," Alexander said. "He's a good veteran fighter, but he's not doing anything I haven't seen. Cory (Spinks) is actually better than him and I've been sparring Cory since I was an amateur. He's a good fighter, I'm not taking nothing from him ... it's going to be a good fight. But I'm going to stay humble and do what I do. You guys are going to see more than what I've been doing in the ring."

...

Cunningham said that when Witter was named Alexander's next opponent, their connection with Spinks became more useful. Over the past seven weeks, Spinks has been Alexander's main sparring partner.

"Cory has been an extremely big help for this particular fight," Cunningham said. "Spinks and Witter have a similar style. They're both kind of awkward and tricky and clever ... so it's been huge having Cory."

• The Desert Sun in Palm Springs, CA did a short piece on Nate Campbell and his connections with Arturo Gatti and Vernon Forrest: "Arturo was the first guy I asked for an autograph. Vernon was the first big-time boxer I met personally." There's also a story in there about Campbell and trainer Terry Trekas chasing down a purse-snatcher, which Campbell says he'd do again even after what happened to Forrest.

Timothy Bradley and Nate Campbell collide this Saturday on Showtime for Bradley's WBO 140-pound title. (via www.donking.com)

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WBO junior welterweight titlist Timothy Bradley and Nate Campbell will meet this Saturday on Showtime in what is on paper a really good fight that, in my view, has been too quietly promoted. Bradley is the best 140-pound fighter in the world whose name isn't Manny Pacquiao, and Campbell is still a viable threat moving up from lightweight.

Their recent press conference yielded some decent quotes.

TIMOTHY BRADLEY: "It’s going be a great fight.  I know Nate comes to fight hard.  I’m looking forward to a war with Nate Campbell.  Fans should get ready fireworks on Aug. 1."

NATE CAMPBELL: "I want to thank Timmy for taking this fight because he didn’t have to take it.  I’m just ready to fight.  I’m over talking about it, let’s get it on."

They then went on to talk about it extensively.

Q: How impressed were you by what Nate Campbell did to Juan Diaz last year?

BRADLEY: "I couldn't believe it. I actually lost money on that fight. I bet my promoter, Alex Camponovo, that Juan would be able to come back. When I saw Nate put his hands on Juan, I was like, ‘wow, this dude is unbelievable.' I was like, ‘I would never want to get in the ring with that dude.' But it came down to it. Basically, to be the best you've got to beat the best. I consider Nate Campbell one of the best fighters at 140 pounds. That's why I'm taking this challenge. I want to be the best fighter in the world at 140 pounds and I have to beat Nate Campbell to do that."

Bradley seemed uncomfortable talking real trash before his last fight against Kendall Holt, and this shows why. Bradley's a nice guy who believes in himself, not an arrogant who is trying to play heel and generate interest that way.

But it did get a bit heated...

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