It was a pitched battle when Jirov defended his IBF cruiserweight crown against Toney at the Foxwoods Casino. Jirov was the constant aggressor and would consistently outwork Toney, but it was Toney who was the more effective and sharper puncher.

The ebb-and-flow of this matchup never wavered. Both men would consistently do what they did best. For Jirov, that meant coming forward and throwing to the body. For Toney, that meant setting up counter-shots and employing his slick defense on the inside. By the 12th and final round, Toney had worn down Jirov enough to finally stagger and knockdown Jirov to the canvas. It was the punctuation to a throwback performance from a throwback fighter.

On the undercard, Antonio Tarver, would use his advantages in height and reach to soundly defeat perennial contender Montell Griffin. Sending him to the canvas in the first and last rounds to easily capture the vacant IBF and WBC light heavyweight belts.

I guess televised executions are legal -- and on pay-per-view. Marco Antonio Barrera, after his 12-round win over Johnny Tapia in November, continued his seniors tour of the featherweight division by facing the faded Kevin Kelley.

Kelley, as always, talked a good game, but simply didn't have anything left and was dispatched in four rounds by the cold and calculating Barrera. It was just as big a mismatch as most had anticipated.

On the undercard, Derrick Gainer, would overcome a slow start to turn back the gutty challenge of Oscar Leon to retain his WBA featherweight belt. He won, but hardly in the fashion that would entice a Barrera or Erik Morales to step in the ring with him. And Cruz Carbajal is quickly becoming the Mexican version of Freddie Pendleton, as he made quick work out of Steve Dotse to retain his WBO bantamweight title.

Perhaps five years ago Vince Phillips and his deadly right hand would have gone right through the aggressive Ricky Hatton. But now, at his advanced age and his less-than-disciplined lifestyle have seemingly taken the legs and the fight out of the always brave Phillips.

He did his best to stave of the constant attacks of Hatton but was simply overwhelmed by his youth and persistence. Phillips showed that he will always be a fighter but much of the fight in him has evaporated with age. Hatton would end up taking a one-sided 12-round verdict. On the undercard, Junior Witter would stop Jurgen Haeck in four stanzas.

Floyd Mayweather proved once again that he is the world's premiere lightweight in taking care of the free-swinging Victoriano Sosa in 12 rounds in Fresno on Easter weekend.

But his display of boxing was not appreciated by the fans inside the Selland Arena and it was further proof that 'the Pretty Boy' will never be a fan favorite. Sosa, like his cousin, Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa, swung for the fences often, but Mayweather's superior skills and speed were more than enough for him to retain his WBC belt.

On the undercard, Miguel Cotto continued his development with a gimme win over Joel Perez, who fell in four.

Comebacking heavyweight Michael Grant got a tougher-than-expected time from journeyman Gilberto Martinez. He would eventually figure out the awkward southpaw and stop him in the eight round. With the win, he sets up a June step-up bout against prospect Dominick Guinn.

But that wasn't the toughest time he had on this night as he was publicly scolded in a way by his trainer Teddy Atlas that made everyone watching wince. You wonder if Grant will ever regain his confidence.

It was a night of upsets on this episode of ESPN2's Friday Night Fights. First, journeyman Anthony Bonsante would basically end the career of Tony Ayala by dominating him and stopping him in 11 rounds. Ayala, since his release from prison, had been carefully matched but it seemed that age had finally caught up to him on this night.

The main event was a crossroads match-up of two solid jr. middleweights in Verno Phillips and Bronco McKart. Phillips, coming off a win against Shibata Flores, would floor McKart early on and then proceed to control the action to win a well-deserved 10-round verdict.

Julio Garcia is turning some heads with his recent performances and he turned a few more by continuing his run of strong showings. This time the active Cuban jr. middleweight would overwhelm and overpower Johnny Rivera in five fast-paced rounds. Garcia, is quickly become a bona-fide contender in this division. On the undercard Lavka Sim would stop Luis Vallalta in four rounds.

Jose Navarro got in a solid nights work and kept his undefeated mark with a hard-fought win over the courageous Jorge Luis 'Speedy' Gonzales. It was what you come to expect from this solid southpaw: sound boxing, counter-punching and patience. Navarro would control things from the outside to take a 12-round decision.

Also at the Olympic Auditorium that night, Mike Anchondo would have to work hard to stop veteran Roque Cassiani in ten heats.

Diego Corrales' comeback seems to be hitting full-stride as he dominated the overmatched Felix St. Kitts in three rounds. That wasn't so surprising, but the fact that he was able to come in at 131 pounds was. If he can make the jr. lightweight limit, he could soon be challenging the likes of Acelino Freitas for top honors in that division. Ishe Smith made his national debut by out-boxing veteran Sammy Garr in ten.

Forget all the bellyaching about how wide the scorecards were for Toney-Jirov, what about the highly questionable draw that was given to Daniel Judah after he was basically out-boxed for at least eight of the ten rounds he fought against Glen Johnson?

But Johnson should consider himself lucky that he even got a draw- as he agreed to a winner-take-all fight. With the draw, he at least got to split the ten grand with Judah. On that same show, heavyweight Monte Barrett would take a ten round verdict over Robert Wiggins.